City of Angels
by Rikaku
Summary: In the dark of the night, as demons chase, people scream to be heard. One person, one investigator, must listen, and hope that there will be time to help... time before he leaves this mortal world. InuKag
1. Prologue: Universally Disguised

**City of Angels**

by Rikaku

General Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I own this plot and Yoko-san.

Genre: Romance/Angst/Adventure (I hope…)

Written: December 29, 2005 and December 30, 2005

Posted: December 30, 2005 - Revamped: January 2, 2006

Author's Note: Just wanted to say that you shouldn't read this fiction if you don't like **_strong language_**. Inuyasha curses **_a lot _**(later), and Miroku's one dumbass **_perverted freak_** (also later). Would anyone agree to beta me? I'd appreciate it… and there'd be virtual cookies… or ramen… whatever you like… I'm a virtual magician. Once I got my friends all the virtual manga they wanted…

Prologue: Universally Disguised

---

On the steps of a large office, a lone man stood tall. He had midnight black hair, tinted blue in some light and silver in others. Lean and truthfully, _delicate_ looking, the man could have been mistaken for a girl at first glance with his small frame. It may have been that his hair was past his waist, or that he was standing next to an exceptionally large pillar, but he seemed to be rather short as well. One would guess his height at no more than 5' 6" – based upon first impressions.

But upon closer examination, one would realize that he was, in fact, _not_ a girl, nor was he particularly short. Really, he was quite tall, 6' ½", and any other man would be dwarfed by his aura. His confident stance, head held high, was defiant seeming as the man waited for his official to arrive. Body language conveyed that the man would squash his foes to protect those he cared for, and nothing, not even something as final as death, would stop him from doing so.

Sensing that someone was watching him, the man turned his head around, hair whipping backwards in haste. Glaring upon the darkness, he twisted his fingers together, allowing his glove to scrunch up. Hurriedly, he tugged up and down to make it respectably smooth. His face was every bit feminine seeming as his body, the high cheekbones, and fine nose. The most striking features of all, though, were the unique pair of violet eyes glaring at the street. They were sharp and narrowed in the direction he felt the stare.

Finally he turned around entirely, showing his clothing to the mysterious watcher. Her wore a dark blue suit without a tie and a purple undershirt. His coat was slightly too large for him, it actually looked three sizes too large, and the sleeves went past his thumbs and stopped before the tips of his fingers. His pants also looked a few sizes too large, as they hung at an odd angle on his waist, held up by a black belt, and the legs bunched at his feet. The dark blue pant legs almost completely covered the black shoes the man was wearing; a mismatch, apparently, since they were black combat boot and not the normal dress shoes one would expect.

Looking around, he found his secret admirer, and blinked before shaking his head. Letting out a visible sigh, the man sprinted down the stairs, managing not to trip over his large clothes, before coming to a stop at the last step. He arched a black eyebrow and glared at the person on the bottom, who was also male.

"Holy fuck. Man, you really got into your role, huh?" The stranger at the bottom greeted, sticking out his hand to shake. As they shook, the man who spoke gazed at the man above and in front of him, the icy blue eyes trying to memorize every detail.

The girl-like man simply glared as he shook hands, before withdrawing his own hand and stuffing it into a pocket. Speaking slowly and monotonously, he answered, "If one is to be in disguise, one must play the part, goshujin."

The individual addressed as 'goshujin' rolled his eyes before grunting out, "Yeah, but frankly, Inuyasha-kun, the way you fit into _your_ roles as if they were made for you is scary. We'll never be able to replace you when you retire."

"Who stated I was to retire?" Inuyasha questioned, blinking. His voice, more composed than his appearance, was hovering between low female voice and moderate male pitch. Sighing, he turned his head away and spoke again, "Yoko-kyō, I am only 25. I shall not retire from the private investigation firm for another 15 years – at the least."

Yoko-san grumbled a bit before raising his voice high enough for Inuyasha to hear, "Even so, dear boy, you've only been in the business for 2 years, and already you've taken the slot of top spy. No matter what, you're in the firm's history books."

"Don't not call me such impudent names," Muttered Inuyasha, obviously having gone through the same routine several times before, and he was getting very tired of it, "I will not ask you again; I will simply _leave_."

After accenting the word 'leave' in his threat, Yoko-san, gulped and nodded, motioning for Inuyasha to follow him. "I'm sorry, Chōsakan Tōshi-san; I did not intend to offend you. Now, shall we get down to business?"

Holding open the double doors to the office Inuyasha had been waiting outside of, the fatter police investigator indicated that Inuyasha should enter before him – a great sign of respect in their part of the world. In any other part of the world, these two outsiders would have been extremely rude to allow their guest to go before hand. Who knew demented, evil, vindictive human had left bombs in a public, or even private, area?

Flashing his eyes upward, a sign of exasperation and annoyance, Inuyasha entered and then held the door for Yoko-san to enter through. They had always been traditional, from their part of Japan, but it was getting tedious at times to be forced to keep such a hold on their own culture in an alien area. Frankly, Inuyasha wouldn't have minded to have simply walked through the door like normal men. He quickly tired of being stuck in Kyoto. Having to watch Negaine-san for a month had not helped at all.

Finishing the year as the last surviving operative of the Chōsakan's Rōdōkumiai in Kyoto was not even an added bonus. '_I am supposed to save the lives of people, and instead have thousands of recruits trying to be like me and end up getting killed'. _Inuyasha thought sullenly, as he ambled over to a couch and sat, signaling that he was tired of waiting for the 'Special Report' Yoko-san had received in the morning.

"Well, Yoko-kyō, please. Do not delay this matter further. What was of such grave importance that you were compelled to wake me up at 15 past 12 o'clock?" Inuyasha inquired, trying to sound both annoyed and enthusiastic. Unfortunately, all of his effort was for naught, his voice was still monotonous and drawled out; the only true emotion he had felt the entire time was irritation.

Flashing his investigator a sheepish grin, Yoko-san almost began to retell his report, to attempt to truncate it without missing any important details. But then, deciding better of it, he simply handed Inuyasha the folder and stated, "Your next case."

Raising his eyebrow, Inuyasha took the file folder and began to flitter through anything he found 'sufficiently wasteful.' Pulling out the summary paper he remarked, "You really need to learn how to organize better, goshujin. The summary is supposed to be in the front."

"Well, Tōshi-san, I was going to verbally inform you of the situation, but I thought better of it. Perhaps you would prefer to here my summary and read the rest of the report if you take the case?" Yoko-san questioned, trying to please his best investigator. He didn't want to lose Inuyasha Tōshi until the guy retired.

No one knew where the kid came from, but at the age of 23, looking more like a seventeen year old to be honest, Inuyasha Tōshi marched through the doors of the Chōsakan's Rōdōkumiai and neatly demanded that they hire him. That year, the chōsakan's were having a bit of trouble recruiting people, so naturally they allowed him to register for a spot on a squad. After completing all the necessary paperwork and passing all such hurdles of becoming an investigator, spy, and policeman, Inuyasha had taken his first case.

It was the one case that no one else wanted, and the reason for the firm's short-handedness. Most of the recruits that tried out for the job had come back terrified as two-year olds within a couple days, and no one knew why. So when Inuyasha Tōshi, rookie and youngster – he was actually a little under the normal register's age, but they were desperate – took the folder and left for his mission, people in the firm expected him to come back within two days scared out of his pants.

Three weeks later and they still heard nothing from the young man; but on the eve of the fourth week, Inuyasha stepped into the office calmly and asked when he would be getting his next case. He had walked past the receptionist's desk without so much as a word and sauntered to the head office, where a man by the name of Sesshoumaru Taishou ran the firm. Taishou-san had looked Inuyasha up and down, wondering how such a girly man could ever have finished a job that _30_ tall and burly recruits, and even experienced field officers, couldn't handle.

Laying down a clearly typed report, Inuyasha had grabbed the next hardest case he could find – another one that everyone in the business seemed to be avoiding – and strolled out the door without saying anything else or stealing a backwards glance. Two weeks later, the young man repeated the process until all of the avoided cases had been dealt with.

All of his reports were specific, and not one detail was missing. His spy work was perfect, and not a single person ever suspected him. He made proper calls in arresting the perpetrators of the law. He was only 23. Inuyasha had been announced the firm's best all-around agent within a year, about twelve days shy of his 24th birthday, by Sesshoumaru Taishou.

Now the firm would probably be in chaos if their finest and quickest rising officer and investigator just up and left. The man responsible would then, most definitely, be fired by Taishou-san. Yoko-san rather liked his current job; it paid enough so that his wife wouldn't have to worry about working, and could instead stay home and take care of their children. That decided, he would do everything within his power to make sure that Inuyasha Tōshi didn't leave because of him.

"Okay, so Inuyasha, here are the basics. You are going to Tokyo to watch a very important young woman. She is the daughter of Kajiya Higurashi, and-"

"Wait. Kajiya Higurashi as in the man who has enough money to buy half of Japan, correct? Aren't he and his wife divorced?" Inuyasha interrupted quickly, gesturing with his fingers to pause the man in front of him.

"Why, yes indeed. Anyway, his daughter is still in high school, but we have heard that there are several people in Tokyo who are currently unhappy with the Higurashi's financial status verses their own, so we have reason to believe that someone will attempt to kidnap her. Your position in all of this will be-"

"To pretty much baby-sit Higurashi-san and make sure nothing happens to her, correct? Why me? A rookie could be working on this case." Inuyasha drawled out, looking at his fingernails uninterestedly. He glanced up at his 'superior' and stared.

Coughing nervously and re-adjusting his tie, a habit under pressure, Yoko-san sighed and carefully worded his next sentence, as to not offend Inuyasha. "You see, though you are the most experienced, and yes, a rookie would probably be able to handle this, you are the only candidate, really. Though you are older than a few of the new recruits, you still look much younger. You, eh, could easily blend into the high school, while most of our other universal officers would require lots of time to prepare their appearance."

Sitting up straighter, and looking more official than even Taisho-san in his perfect suit, Inuyasha locked eyes with Yoko-san. "So the firm chose me based upon my boyish appearance?"

"In essence… yes." Yoko-san gulped, hoping that Inuyasha would see that they, once again, required him to do a specific job. This specific job. It also seemed as if most of the younger looking people in the firm didn't want to re-experience high school either. "Tōshi-san?"

Sighing while standing up, Inuyasha rolled his eyes and said, "Well that settles it. When do I leave for Tokyo?"

---

Ending Note: That was the prologue. Only 2000-ish words… that sucks. Chapter 1 should be up in a day or so. Please review or e-mail me and tell me how I can make this story better. Don't worry. Though this may sound like some random undercover cop falls in love with the person he's suppose to protect, it's not. Twists and Turns, my friends. Twists and Turns.

Oh, and for reading through my prologue… Virtual cookies for everyone!


	2. Chapter 1: Student Selection

**City of Angels**

by Rikaku

General Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I own this plot, Touken-san and Yoko-san.

Genre: Romance/Angst/Adventure (I hope…)

Written: December 30, 2005 December 31, 2005, and January 1, 2006

Posted: January 2, 2006 - Revamped: January 13, 2006

Author's Note: Next chapter. Virtual popcorn to any who wants some!

Chapter 1: Student Selection

---

Jumping up and down, a young woman shouted up the stairs to her best friend. For once in their lives, she would make sure that they got to school _on time_ and not five minutes after the bell rang. Stomping her foot, adorned in dark brown buckle shoes, the girl nearly screamed in frustration. Clothed in her school's mandatory black pleated skirt and white blouse, she ran up stairs, her black hair swishing behind her.

"Sango-chan! Move! Now!" She hissed out once at the top of the stairs, her mahogany eyes glaring at her best friend, Sango Uyamuya, who was currently trying to get her feet in her size-too-small buckle shoes, the exact same as her friend.

"Coming Kagome-chan! Geez!" Sango stood up when she finally stuffed her foot into the shoe, and turned to her backpack. Grabbing everything, she sprinted down the stairs and heard Kagome follow. Turning her chocolate eyes toward her best friend, Sango and Kagome pushed open the door and called out, at the same time, "See ya!"

Dashing as fast as they could, Kagome's shoulder length hair swaying freely, and Sango's brown hair in a ponytail, they made a regular sight for anyone who lived on their street. Screaming at each other to go faster, they hurried along to their school, Kyōiku High.

Kagome Higurashi, the daughter of the wealthy Kajiya Higurashi and Satsuki Higurashi, living in a shrine with her mother, brother, and grandfather – on her mother's side – was more like an average girl than most people would assume. She lived with her mother after her parents divorced when she was 7 and Souta, her brother, was 3 ½. Living in middle class with her mother, she never really cared that much about money, rather preferring to spend time with her family and best friend Sango.

Sango Uyamuya was like Kagome, living with her father in a middle class residential area. Her brother and mother also lived with them, however, as of two weeks prior, her mother had to be taken to the hospital due to a motor vehicle accident. Kohaku, her younger brother had also been in the car, and was in the hospital for a couple of broken ribs when he had slammed into the dashboard since his seatbelt didn't lock fast enough. Like Souta, Kohaku was only 14, while their sisters were 17 ½.

Due to their casual attitude about life, both girls were friends with almost everyone in the school. They had fun laughing about how bad of grades they got on certain reports or project, or even how their parents were weirding them out. One of the most hilarious things to talk about was Sango and Kagome's constant tardy record, and how, no matter what they did, they were always five minutes late for school.

Gasping for breath, the two made it to the front steps with just minutes to spare. Surprisingly, though, there was no one in sight to laugh about their tardy record with. Glancing at each other, they both asked the same question, "Where'd everyone go?"

--

Inuyasha had never been to such a crowed high school in his entire life. Pushing through everyone, he finally made it to the office door so he could pick up a schedule.

Flinging the door open, he stalked inside, fully intent on getting his 'space.' Sighing happily, for once in his life, Inuyasha relaxed a little and spotted the secretary talking on the phone, motioning him that she'd be with him as soon as possible. Raising an eyebrow while he sat down, he muttered a few words and glared at the floor, dropping his backpack at his feet.

Inuyasha blinked for a few minutes before realizing that he would probably have to change his personality towards others an awful lot for anyone to buy that he was a former student of Muzukashii High. Most of the students there, he had been informed by Yoko-san, would curse regularly, so his quiet, calm demeanor would have to be put aside for the 'wild side' as Yoko-san called it.

Shaking his head, he sighed again. Never having been one to party, Inuyasha had no idea if he had a wild side. But, if cursing out loud was the requirement, then he would certainly meet it. Maybe he could finally let his thoughts be heard about this stupid world.

Yoko-san also said that students from his 'former' school had superiority complexes and huge ego, so fights would have to be near constant for the charade to hold. If anyone cared any less, Inuyasha would be glad to break a few other people's bones once in a while. He'd been passive for too long.

There was also the matter of his unnatural girlish appearance. Everyone at the office made fun of him, but he usually avoided fights. Yoko-san had allowed him to practice his reaction at the high school if he were to be insulted in a similar fashion. So the last person to call him a fag at the office had ended up with several broken bones. No one had been able to get over Inuyasha's ability to kick ass, but, as far as they were concerned, it was a one time only thing.

Finally being called on by the secretary, Inuyasha jumped up and told them his name, or rather alias. The name had been running around in his head ever since he was in Kyoto, for his undercover work, so, figuring it was as good a time as any to use it, he told Yoko-san. In this high school, he would be known as Shihai Satsujin, the ruling homicide – or as Inuyasha preferred to be referred to as, the ruling homicide maniac.

Of course, Yoko-san had only agreed to that because Inuyasha 'insisted' that he would require a gang name. If anyone bothered to ask, Yoko-san informed him that he should just make up another name on the spot, or tell them his real first name. Deciding that making up names that didn't have anything to do with life and death, Inuyasha decided that he'd just use his real name for the registration, with the exception of his last name being Satsujin, not Tōshi, to the high schoolers.

"Satsujin, Inuyasha Shihai." Inuyasha coldly informed the woman manning the desk. He looked her over, deciding that she wouldn't be a threat to his protégé.

Looking up at him, the woman whistled lowly. "Damn, you're good-looking. Too bad you're one of those bad boys with the hot bodies that are still in high school." She muttered, obviously not counting on Inuyasha to hear her.

Lightly smirking, Inuyasha decided to give his act a try; ego was one of his big problems, since he didn't exactly care what others though of him in reality. Usually he'd say, 'Well, that's life, ma'am,' or nothing at all, but he decided a little fun was in order.

"You ain't too bad lookin' yourself, babe." He winked at the woman when she looked up at him, blushing lightly. She coughed out a 'thank you' before handing him some papers.

"Here is your schedule, Satsujin-san. The bell should ring in a few minutes. There is also a map in the pile, for your use. Have a nice day." She called as Inuyasha walked out the door with his papers.

"You too babe!" He called back, chuckling mentally to himself at how fun it was to make people embarrassed. On his face, though, he had a drop-dead sexy smirk, and kept shooting it to the female population. _'This is a lot more fun than Kyoto! Kami! High schoolers are such morons!'_ Inuyasha inwardly snickered.

Walking along, his smirk slowly formed into a more thoughtful expression as the hallways were relieved of students rushing to their first classes before the bells rang. Knowing how he was supposed to act, he figured this would be a lot more difficult than a normal high school operation.

In most investigations involving a high school, it was based upon drug and alcohol smuggling. When that was the case, Inuyasha could easily blend into the background and observe all of the suspects. As of now, he was supposed to get close to his subject, befriend her, and then stalk her for a month or two. While he was an expert at stalking, he wouldn't kid anyone on his social skills. Those were almost completely absent.

'_To fit in, one must play the role. One must feel the change. One must become one's character.'_ Inuyasha reminded himself of his own words. He would really need to feel this character if he were to remain undetected. _'Then again, I'm always playing a character.'_ Turning towards the window at the end of the hallway, he stared out of it. _'Except no one knows I play the part…'_

--

Rushing down the hall, Sango and Kagome bolted to their first class, almost making around the last corner when Sango ran right into someone. Falling back, Sango grabbed Kagome's offered hand before looking in the direction of the other person, about to give them a hand.

"Sorry!" Sango shouted once looked towards the person. But she was surprised to find that he hadn't landed on the floor. He blinked a couple of times, as if he were in a daze, before shaking his head and muttering, "S'okay."

Looking the boy up and down, it was quite surprising when neither Kagome nor Sango could recognize him. Surely they would have remembered someone like this! His hair, oddly long for a boy, was tied back into a high ponytail and was shining dark blue in the hall lights. The boy wore a black shirt and dark blue jeans, held up by a worn out belt, chains strung everywhere they could be possibly stay. On each of his arms, there were gloves that went to his elbows with the tips cut off, and he wore combat boots. When he looked up, his eyes bore into their own; dark violet eyes.

Raising an eyebrow, the boy questioned, "Shouldn't you be getting to class?" Before they could answer, he stalked away and turned another corner. Staring after him like fish, Kagome glanced at Sango and asked, "Who was that guy?"

Shaking her own head, Sango turned in the direction of their class and began to walk with Kagome beside her. "Beats me, but it's probably a new kid or something. Did you see that get-up? Biker, definitely. He doesn't have a school uniform yet!"

"Yeah. But he seemed okay. I mean, he didn't even yell at you for running into him!" Kagome said happily, clapping Sango on the back as they entered the classroom right as the bell rang. The took their separate seats and waited for the teacher to come in.

--

Wandering around the halls aimlessly was not Inuyasha's idea for a good time. Stepping around another corner, he muttered, "That school map is a year and a century old."

Finally he stumbled upon someone who wasn't in a hurry to get to class. Rolling his eyes skyward in dismay, he carefully tapped the person on the shoulders. "Konnichiwa, sir." He stated in his most polite tone. The stranger turned around and gave Inuyasha a look over before saying, "I'm guessing you are the new student?"

"Correct. I am hopelessly lost, and require direction." Inuyasha issued the man a curt bow and straightened, lookin him in the eye. The other man raised his own eyebrow and looked at Inuyasha like he was a foreign object.

"Young man, are you sure you're from Muzukashii High? You are far too polite… No matter." The man smiled as Inuyasha just shrugged. "If you are looking for your first class, I'd be happy to escort you there myself."

Blinking in surprise, Inuyasha simply nodded and said, "Domo arigato. I'd appreciate that. But you needn't bother. I simply require directions."

"That is quite all right, seeing as I'm headed that way." The man smiled and then walked off in the direction that Inuyasha had just come form. _'It would appear that my luck is horrible. That is, horrible at best…'_ Inuyasha thought sullenly, strolling behind the man guiding him.

"I don't believe you quite know who I am… My name is Touken Ōatari and I am your homeroom teacher." The man in front spoke quietly, so as to not disturb the classes they were passing. "I got a notice this morning saying that you would be coming today, and that I would be your homeroom teacher. I hope that you have a good time here at Kyōiku High."

Smiling lightly, and quite happy that he got a good impression on his first teacher, he stated, "It is a pleasure to meet you." The man ahead simply nodded in acknowledgement as they approach a door steadily. Turning back towards Inuyasha, Touken-san smiled and said, "Wait for your cue. Surprise them all with your superior vocabulary, eh? Might just get them to shut up for once!" Winking, he entered the room, leaving Inuyasha outside, alone.

Looking about the hallway, Inuyasha decided that this was quite a respectable school, but could go quite a ways in means of security. There were just far too many places for a person to slip through the doors without ever being questioned, or checked for firearms. Sighing, and slightly wishing he had taken an Advil in the morning, Inuyasha decided to stop thinking that way. _'Kami, only two years in the police force at the firm and I'm already too clogged up with their thinking…' _

Leaning against the wall, refraining from hitting his forehead against it several times, Inuyasha waited for his cue to enter the room. He listened to light laughter, and then heard Touken-san calm the class before speaking again. In that instant, he managed to remember… "Fuck! Where the hell did my backpack go!"

--

The teacher walked into the classroom slowly, waiting as all of the student quieted down. Rarely had Kagome and Sango seen their homeroom teacher late, but for once they were glad that it wasn't them slinking into the room. Looking carefully at the teacher, they noticed a small, but devilish smile forming on his lips. He was up to something, and they weren't sure that it would be a good thing.

"Touken-san! You're late!" One of the students chided.

Kagome and Sango turned to the student. The boy was their own age, and had a reputation that preceded him. His name was Miroku Tanoshii, and he was the pervert of the class of 2005. Miroku was quite your regular looking man; actually he was quite handsome by the standards of most of the female population. He usually wore dark colored shirts, like the navy blue dress shirt he was currently wearing, and black dress pants. With his dark blue eyes and black hair, he was a babe-magnet… until he groped the girls, that is.

Muttering incoherently under his breath, their teacher smiled a 'devil-escaped' smile at Miroku before saying, "I think you'll be happy to know why I was late, though. It seems as though there was a lost person, one with very long, _shiny _black hair and long, _long_ legs, Tanoshii-kun." Whistling, Miroku leaned back into his chair and grinned. "As it turns out, this person is our new student."

Miroku whooped, along with half of the male population. "So, where's the beauty?" Miroku questioned, his grin growing broader. Sango made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat and hissed out, "Hentai." Everyone laughed at Miroku's expense, but quieted down once Touken-san began to speak again. "Our new student is waiting outside the door. Everyone, I am pleased to present our student, transferred from Muzukashii High, Satsu-"

"Fuck! Where the hell did my backpack go!" An annoyed individual outside yelled in an enraged and slightly bewildered tone.

Touken-san blinked at the interruption from outside and turned to the class, his eyebrows furrowed. "Please do excuse me. I need to see what-" The class of twenty-three students heard something fleshy hitting against the wall next to the door.

"Shit! I left it in the office! Bloody fucking hell!" The same voice from before intoned.

Wincing at the strong language, Touken-san left the room, and the students began to chatter. Sango and Kagome went to sit near their other friend, Kikyou, and began to discuss whom that could have been. Surely, by the way Touken-san had talked about the new student, couldn't it have been a boy. The angry being slamming into the wall was most definitely a creature with the Y chromosome and all of its problems.

"I vote Kouga-kun was an idiot today." Kikyou offered, smiling deviously. She turned around to see the rest of the students. "I don't see him in here today, so it has to be that baka!" She laughed along with Sango and Kagome, who were bobbing their heads in agreement.

"But how would his backpack end up in the office?" Kagome asked. An entire class of incredulous looks met that query. Before she could prepare herself, the entire class shouted, "How do you think, Kagome-chan?" Waving her hands in a 'peace, good men' gesture, Kagome laughed with the rest of her friends.

--

Inuyasha muttered a string of curses that would cause the worst men in the world to cower in fear. He ran a hand through his bangs and slapped his own forehead. He hadn't had enough hindsight to remember to pick up his backpack on the out of the office. Boy was he in trouble.

To his right, the door squeaked open, before a few more in the hallway opened as well. The teachers all popped their heads out and gave him a short glare before springing back into their own rooms to teach. It was then Inuyasha realized exactly how loud he had yelled his frustration. _'I've never had to carry something around with me constantly. Not my fault.'_

Looking up, he noticed Touken-san gazing at him. _'Oh yeah. Whoops.'_ He inwardly bashed his head a few good times. Inuyasha let out his best sheepish grin and said, "Sorry. That was uncalled for. I left my backpack in the office and I can't find it…" Scratching his head slightly, he gave another sheepish grin to the teacher.

Shaking his head, Touken-san looked at his new student in wonder. "You know boy, this is the first I have ever heard of a student from Muzukashii High apologize for cursing after losing anything he or she owned. No wonder you transferred here." Smiling Touken-san pointed down the hall. "The office is that way; the third door on the left. I'll stall and have fun toying with the students while you grab it. Knock twice when you are back."

He re-opened the door to his classroom and said quietly, "Get to it boy." Flashing one last smile, Touken-san disappeared into the class, where all of the noise ceased almost instantly. Inuyasha, in turn, sprinted down the hall and towards the office.

--

Looking up from their chattering, the class quieted at once, wanting to learn who had gotten in trouble for yelling obscenities in school while classes were in session. Touken-san looked at them and smiled before sitting on his desk. Raising an eyebrow, he stated, "I just had a talk with our new student," then to make it seem like there were two people out there, "and the person said that the one who yelled had left his backpack in the office." The students looked at him dryly.

"Anyway, our new student needs a little more time before being introduced, so I decided to play twenty questions with you all. I will try to answer any question you ask about anything, even those that are not yes or no." Leaning back slightly, Touken-san was pleased by his ingenious plan to keep his students occupied while Inuyasha got his backpack. "First up is… Tanoshii-kun. Ask away!"

Grinning, Miroku drawled out, trying to be dramatic, "So… who is our new student…? Hm?" Waving a finger in the air, Miroku looked up to Touken-san and smiled before saying, "Boy or girl?"

Touken-san grinned another of his famous devil-grins, the kind he flashed when there was a pop quiz and said, "Now, now, Tanoshii-kun! Let's have more fun than that! I think you'd be able to tell Satsujin-san's gender when our new student walks through the door. The answer for your first question is that our mystery student's nickname was Shihai Satsujin at Muzukashii High. That is quite worrying if you think about it though… 'Ruling Homicide'… Foreboding, ne, Tanoshii-kun?" Winking, Touken-san shushed Miroku's whistle of appreciation and pointed to Sango for the next question.

"I can think of several ways to take the nickname Shihai Satsujin, ne boys?" The females of the class looked on in shock and disbelief as the rest of the males in the room, excluding Touken-san who was married, got stars in their eyes. "Hot stuff!" Someone in the back shouted.

"By the Kami! Shut up Miroku!" Sango yelled, pegging the boy with a pen. "May I ask now?"

"Of course you may, Uyamuya-chan." Touken-san waved his hand to indicate that Miroku should, indeed, shut up.

"Okay. First of all, what happened to the guy cursing in the halls? Second, why is your hair fuchsia today?" Sango bewilderingly pointed to Touken-san's normally grayish brown hair that was unnaturally a dark pinkish color.

After several minutes of coughing, Touken-san managed to swallow and turn to Sango, showing his lightly pink painted cheeks, and then answered, "Well, I gave the boy in the hall a weird look and told him to go get his backpack and get back here as soon as possible. My hair… uh… That was an accident my children had with pomegranates… heh." He coughed one last time and scratched his neck while the class laughed in an uproar.

"Oh my! Pomegranates!" Sango chocked out, holding onto a girl sitting next to her to stay upright in her chair.

"Yes… Now may we please continue with the questions?" The teacher humbly asked, rather embarrassed by his aforementioned hair color. He blinked as he heard a knock on the door. Then another followed. Apparently Inuyasha had found his backpack without much of a problem; only ten minutes since he'd told the boy to run to the office and grab it.

"Okay class! Settle down!" Touken-san called, waving his hands in a 'sit down now' motion. "It appears that our new student is ready to come in." Half of the class whooped again; the boys for the fact that they were pretty sure that the new student was a girl, and the girls because they really hated suspense. Looking in the direction of the door, Touken-san said, "I think I'll introduce our new student! May I present to you, to one, the only transfer from Muzukashii to Kyōiku High…"

---

Huffing, Inuyasha half-collapsed against the wall; backpack and all. Running all the way back to his apartment, since he managed to forget his cell phone (quite required when one was a universal investigator) Inuyasha had just barely made ten minutes. _'Oh Kami, I'm never going to let this damn thing out of my sight!'_ He pulled himself upright and heaved a sigh, knocking at the door while he heard the entire class – at least, that's what it sounded like – laughing. The classroom had quieted, and to his chagrin, he heard Touken-san began to announce him into the classroom.

"_From what I heard before, I don't think they're expecting a boy…'_ He swallowed his laughter before it could bubble to the surface. _"Touken-san would be one tough opponent in a game of logic and words. If he were a threat, he would be a difficult enemy to conquer.'_ He complimented the teacher in his own mind. A buzzing sounded into his right ear, but Inuyasha ignored it as he heard his name being called slowly by the teacher; he turned the doorknob, swinging the door wide open…

---

Ending Note: 4,000 words exactly… Oh Buddha, I must have rewritten this at least ten times… School comes up tomorrow… We're all going to be swamped by homework…

Please comment. Whether it be by e-mail or reviewing, I care not. I just need input, seeing as I'm trying to become a novelist. Like that'll ever happen… grumbles

Sayonara.


	3. Chapter 2: Emotionally Exhausted

**City of Angels**

by Rikaku

General Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I own this plot, Touken-san, Akari-chan, Raikou-kun, Sagi-chan, Fukeru-chan, Kuyamu-kun, and Yoko-san.

Genre: Romance/Angst/Adventure (I hope…)

Written: January 3, 2006, January 4, 2006, January 7, 2006, and January 8, 2006

Posted: January 8, 2006 – Revamped: January 13, 2006

Author's Note: Thank you to my reviewers. I got this one out as soon as I could… sometimes school really makes me stressed. Oh, the homework… Maybe I should go find Raikou-kun. He has a beautiful policy for anything that annoys him…

Chapter 2: Emotionally Exhausted

---

On the streets of a bad neighborhood in Esashi, there stood a well kempt house. It was whitewashed, like so many of the others, but unlike the adjacent houses, this one had a beautiful garden growing near the porch. There were flowers of all kinds, different colors and shapes, lining the perimeter as well as a rose bed in the backyard. The only window facing the street was befallen by a shadow.

Staring out the window with bottomless hazel eyes, a young woman ran her hands through her dark brown hair. Stifling her sigh, once again, she turned and paced the room, dull and empty, following a wear pattern that was years in the making. The floor was a dull grey color, with many cracks, but the distinct trail of the woman's feet was obvious. A door on the other side of the room swung open as a tall figure came through and stepped in front of the woman.

"Oh, for Kami's sake, Akari-chan, quite pacing! You're actually wearing a trench in the _cement_!" The young man scolded, grabbing the woman's shoulders, effectively stopping her from advancing. He glared down at her with his bright green eyes, his red hair, cut just above his shoulder, swaying from his movement.

"But it has been years – _years_, Raikou-kun – since he left! How come he didn't tell us where he was going? Why hasn't he written yet? What if-" Akari stopped short as Raikou shook her and said, "You see! This is why I tried not to tell you, but _no_, you had to see what he was up to! Just sit down and be calm. He's strong. Nothing will happen to him." He waved his hands and huffed.

"This is why you never get a woman into men's business." Raikou turned his back on Akari, throwing his hands in the air, but that was all she needed. "Why you little prick!" She hissed, springing on him, sending both of them toppling to the floor. "Kami forbid you actually have a brain!"

They both rolled, tangled limbs flying, until they came to a stop when Raikou hit the wall. "Damn wall." He muttered, sitting up and rubbing his back, before glaring down at the girl in his lap. "You know better than to jump me! It's war!" He shouted as Akari jumped up and dashed out of the room, trying to find an escape. Grinning, Raikou chased after, yelling, "Time for Bloodshed! War! Bloody Hands! Gunshots! Raise Hellfire!"

Shouting back and forth as they played a game of tag, the man thought, _'Well, at least she's not worried anymore.'_

---

Sango and Kagome waited in anticipation for the announcement of the new student. They had no idea whether she, for it was obvious that the transfer was a girl, would be a stuck-up snob or the quiet, mellow type. If it were the latter, they were pretty sure the girl would still be able to hold her own in a fight. After all, who ever heard of weaklings surviving in Muzukashii?

"May I present to you the one, the only transfer from Muzukashii to Kyōiku High, Satsujin Inuyasha Shihai!" Doing a sweeping bow, Touken-san directed his hands to the door, as the doorknob began to turn. The few seconds it took for the new student to open the door became antagonizing minutes.

Kagome began to think frantically about possible scenarios. _'It's no doubt that this 'Inuyasha' is a girl. What kind of guy would walk around with that name tagged to him? It means female dog demon, after all. But what if our new student hates me and decides to bully me? What if she's really mean and tries to kill everyone one day? What if Kouga and Miroku try to play the girl? Will she be able to hold her own against those two?'_ All of Kagome thoughts ceased as soon as the door swung open, revealing the shadows in the hall.

"You may come in." Touken-san mentioned to the new student, who took a reluctant step forward. The shadows seemed to surround her, blocking her from their view, until she stepped into the class fully. The entire class gasped as they saw the full effect of Touken-san's words. The long, beautiful, shiny black hair; the long legs; the delicate features…

…All on a male, who looked bashfully at the rest of the class…

---

'_Kami.'_ Inuyasha thought, quite distressed by Touken-san's description of him. _'Great, now I feel like a homosexual… or a transvestite, at the least…'_ "You may come in." Touken-san stated. He stepped into the classroom, hearing the gasps from his classmates. Thinking quickly, he walked forward to the center of the classroom, where his teacher stood, the mischief glinting in his eyes openly.

"Now, everyone, I'd like you to say 'hi' to Satsujin-san here!" Touken-san grinned. Glaring at him, a student at the front shouted, "What the hell? I thought that our new student was supposed to be a girl! This girly-guy isn't what I was thinking of!" Several more gasps were heard as the student shot upward, knocking his chair back onto the floor.

"Now, now, Yagikin-kun. Please calm down!" Touken-san sighed, apparently tired of having to deal with Yagikin's attitude on everything. This was an everyday occurrence, for the past three and a half years for Touken-san. However, Inuyasha was not going to take any crap from this egotistical high schooler, so he stalked forward dangerously. Quite surprisingly, the teen was taller than him.

"What the fuck did you just say!" Inuyasha hissed out menacingly, fisting his hands at his sides, glaring up through his bangs.

"Fag. Go back to your closet. Not even a mother could love a face like that." The other kid waved Inuyasha off. Taking his time, partially to control his anger and partially to examine the situation, Inuyasha looked over the boy.

Unlike most kids in the class – who had natural hair colors only – this one has short, spiked hair, black with green streaks, and a jade headband. He had blue eyes and was staring directly at Inuyasha. Wearing dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt and accessorized with thousands of chains and tattoos, the boy looked like the typical delinquent. Finally breaking the glaring contest, a girl yelled from the back, "Don't be an idiot Kouga-kun! He's our new student, from _Muzukashii_! While I'm at it, how the heck did you get in here!"

Snorting, the boy named Kouga glared at the girl a little. "Tsuka-chan," He called in a mocking voice, "It's called a window. Besides – I don't think this girl here could beat anything up. Probably why the he-she left his other school!" Before anyone could say another word, Inuyasha sprang into action.

Grabbing Kouga by his forearms, Inuyasha twisted them behind his back, quickly kicking his left leg at Kouga's knees. When Kouga's legs gave out, Inuyasha gripped his hair and yanked his head up, bringing his own down to glare at Kouga. Twisting his arms, like he'd been taught as a young child, Inuyasha heard the casual snap of Kouga's wrist breaking and didn't even bat an eye. Leaning down closer, Inuyasha spoke, low and darkly. "You ever, and I mean _ever_ cross me again _asshole_, I'll make sure your life is a living – _bloody – **Hell**_. Got that?"

Nodding vigorously, eyes wide and frightened since he couldn't break the Inuyasha's grip himself, Kouga was released from the hold. Checking his hands, Kouga was quite surprised when he found that he couldn't move his right wrist. "I think it is broken." Touken-san said quietly from the spot at the front of the room, where he had watched the entire scene quietly. Looking up, Kouga asked, "Can I go to the nurse?" With a quick head bob from his teacher, Kouga ran out of the door and down the hall to the nurse's office.

Sighing to himself, Touken-san sat on his desk and looked at Inuyasha. "Well, it looks like a congratulations are in order." Receiving a blank look from Inuyasha, he continued, "You were the first one to have not tried to pound Kouga to death in two seconds, and you are the only one who actually beat him when you did go after him. I'm impressed." Clapping wearily, the teacher suddenly became serious. "But that does not mean that it is okay to run around and beat people up. Since you were provoked, taunted quite meanly, and this is your first day, I'll let this one slide. But-"

"I am deeply remorseful about the incident with Yagikin-san, Touken-san. It will not happen again. On my honor." Inuyasha quietly interrupted, his voice soft and mellow as he bowed low to Touken-san. Everyone in the class was shocked at his sincere apology and change of attitude. One minute Inuyasha had been hot-tempered and looked positively murderous; now he was the epitome of a good student who was quiet, knowledgeable, and composed.

Blinking quite a few times, Touken-san nodded and said, "Very well. I accept your apology. Please take a seat near Kuyamu-kun and I shall begin with our roll call." Sitting down in the back right corner, Inuyasha just slumped. _'Who knew that this persona would be such a difficult task? This is a job for the social agents, not me. One more roll… one more player in the game.'_ Groaning for what seemed the millionth time, Inuyasha took out his school supplies and tried to keep up with the day.

---

"I'm telling you; you had it coming! Never mess with anyone from Muzukashii High!" Ayame Shōnin scolded her cousin, Kouga Yagikin, during lunch hour. "I heard that a girl who was trapped by one of the fiercest gangs in all Tokyo beat them all and got away unscathed! She was a freshman at that high school!" Looking at her cousin, she sat back down from her pacing. "I don't think you should mess with this Satsujin character. He could be very dangerous if provoked too much."

Turning around to her lunch, Ayame began to eat, handing Kouga half of her tuna sandwich. "Thanks…" Kouga muttered sullenly. It was such how Kouga acted when beaten – not that he was beaten often – but when he was, Kouga would sulk for a good few months. Especially when the victor of the match had been a homosexual freak. "But what has he got on me? I'm taller, and I have more muscle; I should be able to wipe the floor with him!"

"Kouga-kun, you just don't understand. It's probably his style, and he most likely had real life or death fights at Muzukashii. He just is more experienced. Besides that, you should know from training with me that height and strength aren't everything." Ayame devoured her sandwich and looked at Kouga. "Now, I want to see this Satsujin; can you point him out so I can have a go?"

"Fine, fine. Give me a minute to spot his sorry ass. You can even beat me when you're mad enough, so you've got this fight in the bag." Ayame smiled at the compliment, whilst Kouga just shook his head and continued searching the crowd. "Let's go see if he's outside." Kouga suggested, gathering up his things. Bobbing her head in agreement, Ayame picked her own backpack and began to trot towards the door.

Outside there weren't as many students, seeing as the sky promised rain. "Ooh… Weather's gonna be a bitch on the way home…" Ayame muttered. She turned to Kouga. "If it rains, I'll kick your ass until you give me a ride, got it?"

Raising his eyebrow, Kouga nodded and said, "For my dearest cousin, a ride. You know, I'd give one to you anyway… right?" Rolling her eyes, Ayame looked up to the large tree at the edge of the school property. Frowning when she spotted someone there, she called, "Okay! Who's sitting in my tree!"

Kouga turned just as the figure emerged. Standing next to the trunk of the sakura tree was a very serious looking boy. "Satsujin-kun?" Kouga said in surprise, watching as said boy walked around the tree to pick up his own stuff.

"So this is the infamous Satsujin-kun, eh?" Ayame cracked her knuckles, giving him a once over. "You don't look that tough, but that's probably what got Kouga's ego got smashed! I'm Shōnin Ayame, Kouga's better and younger cousin. Pleased to make your acquaintance!" Looking up, Inuyasha just shook his head and rushed past Ayame's outstretched hand, mumbling a quiet, "I'm honored to make your acquaintance, Shōnin-san. Please forgive my hurry." Not once did he stop, but kept on going towards the cafeteria, head down.

Staring at the black-haired teen's back, Ayame remarked, "Well that was interesting. He doesn't seem like the type from Muzukashii High…" Kouga nodded in agreement as Ayame turned back to the tree, flopping down near the base. "Oh well! Let's finish lunch!"

Sitting down next to the trunk, against the roots, Kouga responded distractedly, "Sure Ayame-chan…"

---

Hurrying through the front door of the school, Inuyasha was quite surprised to not meet any resistance. "Oh Kami, the security is severely lacking…" He looked up and shook his head. "Not good… The weather this time of year is very dark and damp."

Walking out of the gates, off the school campus, Inuyasha turned and sprinted to an alleyway, yelling out as fast and loud as he could. He dropped his backpack near the dead-end, praying that it wouldn't get stolen. Jumping over the fence, he slid down to the other side before seeing what he'd come out for.

Lying back up, a young girl looked up to the sky blankly, not even trying to move. There were cuts and bruises all over her pale skin, but her clothes were intact. Several of the deeper gashes on her arms and legs were still bleeding a red river. It was a miracle that she hadn't passed out from blood loss. Hearing Inuyasha's footsteps, the girl painfully turned her head, before letting out a small shriek of discomfort. Recognizing him as a male figure, she tried to get up, but due to her injuries, she fell back to the alley pavement. Jogging, Inuyasha came up to her side and carefully put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her a bit.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. He smiled a bit when the girl's eyes cleared a little to give him a glare that clearly said 'Did you have to ask, idiot?'. "Okay, stupid question. Where does it hurt the worst?" Obviously too exhausted to move much, she rasped out, "Left leg." Nodding his head, Inuyasha looked at her leg.

It was badly twisted the wrong way, all of the blood dried and cracked over her skin. Several cuts, wide and deep, were still bleeding, showing that whoever had done this left as soon as they heard Inuyasha coming as noisily as he could down the alley. Carefully lifting up her leg, hearing a small groan of protest from the female, he saw that her ankle was swollen baldly, as if she broke or sprained it. "Hold still for a minute." Inuyasha whispered, "You'll be fine in a little bit."

The girl nodded lightly, closing her eyes and falling asleep in the comforting presence of Inuyasha. Bowing his head, he began to mutter, delicately holding the girl's leg up. White light surrounded the two figures as everything else went black.

---

Laying her head down on a desk in study hall, Kagome stared out the window. The teacher was out of the room, so everyone was yelling and throwing spitballs, paper airplanes, pencils, and pretty much anything else they could get their hands on. Someone poked her in the back, prompting her to turn around.

"Yes?" Kagome asked, a bit annoyed at now being a potential target for the various flying objects. She came face to face with Ayame Shōnin, the school's good girl gone bad. Obviously having spent so much time with her cousin Kouga had defragmented parts of her brain.

"Hey Kagome-chan. I was wondering if you saw that new kid yet." Ayame casually asked, waving her hands about like she was going to hit somebody. The answer was mostly likely just that.

"Well, yeah. I've seen him, since he and I have the same homeroom class." Kagome blinked as Ayame got hit with a paper airplane and covered her ears just in time for the other girl to scream, "Who the hell threw that!" With everyone in the class cowing at the redheaded teen's anger, Ayame appeared satisfied and only offered a quick, "Better not happen again!"

Turning back to Kagome, Ayame smiled and said, "Sorry about that Kagome-chan." Curling her fingers around her pencil, she began to mindlessly flip it in the air. "So you've seen him. What do you think? Think I could take him on, or am I over my head if I challenge him at the dōjō?" Blinking out of surprise, Kagome furrowed her brow in thought.

The Shōnins were a dōjō family, and had lived in one for the better part of the 1800s. They still owned it, but had now moved inside a nice house about three miles away. Ayame's father still took challenges, mostly in martial arts and kenjutsu, but he was a very adaptable man. They were one of the few successful dōjōs in the entirety of Japan. Being an only child, it was Ayame who would take over the dōjō when her father retired. So far, she only tried twenty challenges, out of the hundreds that came every year to test their skill, but she had beaten all of her opponents.

Kagome thought back to how Inuyasha had disabled Kouga in class that morning. He moved with calculated swiftness, and was obviously adept at fighting. Whether or not that was martial arts, Kagome had no idea. Figuring in that Inuyasha was a male – he had to be built tougher than Ayame even if he seemed like a girl at first glance – Kagome decided that Ayame wouldn't be able to win. That was not how she told Ayame though.

"I'm not too sure if you'd win or lose. I don't even know if Satsujin-kun knows martial arts or if that was street fighting. In all honesty, unless I see a full fledged fight between him and Kouga-kun, I wouldn't know unless you tired." Gulping at Ayame's beaming face, Kagome had the feeling that she sent her friend on a death march.

"Well, I'll ask him. If he says no, then there's nothing I can do, huh?" Leaning back, Ayame said quietly, "Teacher's at the door Kagome-chan; you should turn around and pretend you were reading." Facing the front of the class, Kagome picked up her long forgotten book and wondered what was going through the redhead's mind.

---

Wearily walking to his last class of the day, Inuyasha was positive he would pass out soon. He was stressed and completely exhausted from his early expedition to do much of anything. Opening the door to the Home Ed room Inuyasha off handedly wondered how he would tell the teacher that he was allergic to bad cooking. _'You know you're about to die when you make jokes like that…'_ He thought, taking a seat and dropping his unhealthily heavy backpack on the floor next to his feet.

Looking around, he was surprised to find that he knew absolutely no one. The teacher went to the front of the room, appearing after the bell rang and the stragglers snuck into the class. While she called roll, Inuyasha slumped in his seat even more, wanting to get out of the building created by the devil himself.

'_The building that not even the devil could stand to be in… and that is why he created it – to use against his foes.'_ Snapping out of his daydream by the teacher calling his name and telling him to go to a work group, Inuyasha almost, _almost_, slammed his head on the desk to take a nap, but restrained himself. Once at the group table, Inuyasha eyed the group of girls that glared at him when he sat on a stool.

"What am I to do?" He asked tiredly. A girl with her hair up like his, in a high ponytail, just said, "Take a nap or something. Don't bother or-"

Not even waiting to hear the rest of the instructions, Inuyasha lay his head against the wall, still sitting on the stool, and promptly fell asleep. Only, of course, he was woken by the continuous ring of timers and shuffling of cookie trays only fifteen minutes later. "A guy can't get a descent nap, ne?" He muttered, turning around just in time to see the pair of girls burn their hands trying to take out a tray from the oven.

"Ouch!" They hissed, and sucked on their finger. Jumping off his stool, Inuyasha walked to his backpack and pulled out his mini-first-aid kit. Taking out the burn cream, he walked to his group and grabbed each of the girl's hands, much to the teenagers' protests. After putting the cream around the burn, along with a band-aid. Inuyasha then walked over to the oven and pulled the tray out with his bare hands, plucking a cookie off the tray to eat.

"Hmm… You know, these aren't half bad." He mumbled out through the cookie he ate. The girls on his team – who he earlier heard called Tsuka Sagi and Hikari Fukeru – were astonished, and pretty frozen for a while before they thanked him for the burn cream. "No problem, as long as I get more cookies." Tsuka smiled and nodded to the plate, saying, "Of course you can have more! These were cookies for the group; that was the assignment."

Sheepishly thinking that he had been in a sleep-like state when the teacher announced the project of the day, Inuyasha just grabbed five more cookies and said, "Pig out!"

Both girls laughed lightly, watching Inuyasha try to stuff all five cookies in his mouth at once. "For the world record!" The girls cheered, trying to encourage Inuyasha's natural born stupidity when it came to cookies. _'Never could resist stuffing them down my gullet when mom made them…'_

---

Walking home from the school, Kagome and Sango chattered happily about many things, ranging from the awful mystery meat on the lunch front, to the new kid. Kagome talked most of the time, because Sango was trying to keep her backpack strap from snapping.

"…and can you believe that he was the one you ran into in the hall!" Kagome chirped, bouncing up and down while Sango readjusted the backpack strap. Looking her friend up and down, Sango questioned, "Did you have a lot of sugar?"

"Not really… just a pack of M&Ms, and one sugar cookie from Kikyou-chan at lunch. So, can you believe it?" Kagome happily responded while thy neared their houses. "Yes I can believe it! When did Kikyou-chan give out sugar cookies!" Sango asked since she hadn't gotten one of Kikyou's famous cookies; they were legend at the school after Kikyou had made and brought enough for the entire junior class on her birthday the year before.

"You can? Kikyou-chan gave them out right before I scuttled off to the gym room, remember?" Opening the door to the Higurashi household, both Kagome and Sango walked up the stairs, knowing that no one else would be home until five. The clock only read four, so they had an hour to fool around before getting down to some serious studying.

Frowning, Sango opened to door to Kagome's room and dropped her backpack on the pink and white bed. "No I don't. I was at the drinking fountain!" Kagome dropped her backpack next to Sango's and sat on her green-carpeted floor. "Oh, that's right. Sucks for you!" Kagome beamed at Sango's furious face before shifting to a nervous expression. "Now, now, Sango-chan. Let's not do anything irrational."

"Sure, Kagome-chan." Sango rolled her eyes and sat down before springing back up. "I have an idea! Why don't we do homework now and ask your mom later if we can go to Kikyou-chan's apartment complex. I hear that the new kid lives in the complex down the street!" Sango grinned happily, pointing her index finger towards the ceiling, looking expectantly at Kagome.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Let's get busy!"

---

Ending Note: 4,033 words this time – getting longer! One week isn't that bad, considering my schedule, right? Feel free to comment on my story. **Important: _Do you think that I should change the rating of this story?_** There is going to be lots of references to Inuyasha's appearance, most of the being very rude and inconsiderate, so I'd like to know if anyone thinks that the rating should go up, all things considered… And then there are going to be other random things, like severe gore, that is to be considered. Plus this is supposed to be angst, so don't expect everyone to be all happy forever… not like Inuyasha is happy right now… What adult in their right mind would really like to go back to high school! That doesn't include those who had a good high school experience…

Please comment on my story… Thanks.

…Has anyone noticed that the button for reviewing doesn't work all the time?


	4. Chapter 3: Prelude to Darkness

**City of Angels**

by Rikaku

General Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I own this plot, Touken-san, Akari-chan, Raikou-kun, Sagi-chan, Fukeru-chan, Kuyamu-kun, and Yoko-san.

Genre: Romance/Angst/Adventure (I hope…)

Written: January 13, 2006, January 14, 2006, and January 15, 2006

Posted: January 15, 2006

Author's Note: Whoops. This was supposed to be out yesterday, but I found a few errors (mainly being that I posted the wrong thing. Hehe…) and took it off, tried to put it back on and found it didn't work. So I've worked on it more (it was a bit shorter and not as… plot happy before) and decided to put it out now. Sorry to _Lord Mukara _for having that happen; it wasn't my intent. I'd like to thank my other reviewers for their reviews; you've helped make my day. I was very tempted to cut it off after the first scene, but I decided not to be that mean. Technically I did leave you in the same spot, seeing as I don't continue that line in this chapter… Also, I've changed the rating of this story to M; you'll see why. One reason – Raikou's perverted.

Chapter 3: Prelude to Darkness

---

Inuyasha jumped into his apartment, away from the mob of girls that had followed him home. _'Damn they're persistent!'_ Dead bolting his door and dropping his keys in one of his coat pockets, where he wouldn't forget them, he slinked off to the kitchen to get a beer and then head to the window. Normally, Inuyasha wasn't one to drink, but after a situation like that, the most virtuous man in the world would need a little alcohol. _'Hell, I bet Kami would need a tequila after that too!'_

Once school had let out, a dead tired Inuyasha tried to slip through the crowds unnoticed, but hadn't been able to lay low for long. A group of girls near the entrance were talking to each other right when he pushed open the door. His black swaying hair and lean frame had given him away as the group of girls looked up and started giggling hysterically over him.

Having been rather scared, not to mention that he was 25 and these were teenagers, Inuyasha pushed out the door and run his hardest to his apartment complex. The poor man, already tuckered out by lunchtime festivities, was almost too tired to head up the stairs to his apartment room. That was, until he heard the group of girls coming down the street, to which sound he bolted up the stairs and into his room. Quite surprisingly, the group of giggling teens was faster than they let on.

"Oh, fuck no." Inuyasha muttered when he saw the girls from before start amassing more fan girls when they shouted, "The new boy lives here! The heaven-made male Satsujin Inuyasha lives here!" In the very short time he'd been in Kyōiku, it was obvious that Inuyasha was very popular by female standards. Shifting his beer bottle, Inuyasha slumped to his couch and flipped through the television channels, not really listening to anything in particular. When he found a news station, he left it there and decided to see what was up in town. After all, just because he had a specific assignment didn't mean he wasn't allowed to help other people.

The television screen flashed white and black before settling on an image. Inuyasha straightened and looked at the screen, his interest peaked. The background of where the news reporter, who was a petite woman of about 23 years, stood was an alley. The damp ground was littered in bottle shards and scrapes of paper. A few cigarettes were lying discarded near the walls of black painted buildings. Behind the reporter were several police officers, setting up a yellow banner - crime scene tape - around a pool of blood. The same pool of blood a young girl had laid in during lunch.

Clearing her throat, the woman began to speak in a shaky voice, obviously affected by whatever news she had to report. "This afternoon, around one o'clock, a young woman working at the local café was attacked and brutally beaten by a gang while on her way home. This is the thirteenth gang violence attack within a week, and the only one to have turned up with witnesses thus far. The woman, who ran into this alley, managed to meet another young man who helped her; it was he who phoned the police. Not wishing to put her rescuer in danger, the woman, remaining confidential as well, has not spoken to his identity, only saying these few words, '_I am glad to know that there are still people in this world who wish to do good for others without a price. My dear savior, I thank you; you know who you are, and I suppose that is all that matters to you._' Now the young woman is under the protection of the police, and they hope she can help stop the multitude of crimes that have been happening in this part of Tokyo. This is-"

Turning the television off, not bothering to hear what else the reporter had to say, Inuyasha threw his bottle away and walked to the other side of his room. Looking out the window to the dissipating mob of girls he turned his gaze across the street, where he caught a glimpse of the girl he was sent to watch after, walking to the apartment complex next to him. She was chattering happily with another girl at her side, both clutching books to their chests.

"If there is as much crime in Tokyo as the new says, this is certainly no job for a rookie investigator. I suppose I am glad that they sent me here; we wouldn't want to fail one of our missions." He walked towards his closet and shuffled through a few clothes before finding what he needed. Pulling it out, he closed the closet door.

"Ah, at least the girl from before didn't let them know about me. It is good to be the king…" He muttered to himself, slipping off to his bathroom. Staring at his reflection, he swallowed a flask full of dark red liquid and sank to the floor.

---

Walking to Kikyou's had always proven very entertaining to Sango and Kagome, seeing as there usually was a major celebrity staying at the hotel across the street. Often, they would walk to Kikyou's apartment listening to awestruck teens declare their undying love to who ever was staying at the hotel. If it were a female celebrity, males would come around and ask for 'just one date' or a 'fun night out'. It always put a smile on their faces and their laughter in the air, no matter how bad the rest of their day had been.

Today had shown a change in crowds; a group of girls from their own school where standing in front of an apartment and screaming, all looking like they saw Kami and he turned out to be a bishōnen in leather instead of an aging old man. They normally would be in front of the hotel, holding out signs that said, 'We love you' and then the name of whichever celebrity had the misfortune of staying there that week. It was after they heard the screaming that their eyes bugged out. "The new boy lives here! The heaven-made male Satsujin Inuyasha lives here!" A group of girls screamed at the top of their lungs, pointing up to a random window.

Turning to Sango, knowing full well what angry fan girls were capable of, Kagome whispered, "Can't they get arrested for that Sango-chan? I mean, if the boy wanted the attention, wouldn't he have come down already?"

Sango looked thoughtfully at the spread out horde of teens before saying, "Well, if he _doesn't_ want any of them, that has to be a first. I mean, if he asked them to sleep with him, I doubt any of them would refuse." Kagome's jaw dropped and she gasped. Sputtering, she stared at her friend not managing to say anything for a while. "Sango-chan! I think you've been hanging around Miroku-kun way too much!"

Putting her left hand up in protest, Sango began to speak seriously. "No, really Kagome. That's just how males think - most of them, anyway, if this is any proof to differ. Miroku is just open with his feelings, but most of the boys at our school are just… men. Getting laid might prove to be all that they think about when they look at females, but from what's happening down here, either the boy up there is into guys, or he has a girlfriend at his old school and is being unlike any male I've seen not married – even ones in serious relationships don't act so virtuous all the time – and is actually being faithful."

Gaping at her friend in near disbelief Kagome turned to the crowd of girl, which had reduced in size. She furrowed he eyebrows and turned to Sango again. "Yeah, but what if it's none of the above. What if Satsujin-kun just doesn't want to be in a relationship right now?" Snorting, Sango looked to Kikyou's apartment complex and remained quiet. Kagome grinned and thought that she had won the battle until Sango responded.

"I highly doubt that he doesn't want a relationship. I think that he's gay. If you look at him once, you can almost see the gayness dripping off of him. But you still could be right. Highly unlikely, but he could _not _want a relationship right now. If he doesn't, then you and he are in the same boat, which is a very, _very_ lonely boat indeed! Only two people, who just might get it on despite it all!"

Sango smiled brightly, just before Kagome slapped her upside the head and screeched, "Don't say that! I am too looking for a boyfriend! I just haven't met the right person!" A few couples walking to the store together looked up at Kagome in surprise, causing her to blush heavily. "Oh, it's just Higurashi-san and Uyamuya-san going at it again." They all breathed out, continuing on their way.

Turning to Sango, absolutely furious, Kagome whispered, "If you say anything like that at school, I'll tell everyone about your love for the perverted king of the century, Tanoshii Miroku! I won't even try to keep it from reaching Miroku-kun's ears!"

This time, Sango's jaw dropped as they reached Kikyou's apartment complex. Stopping in front of the doors, Sango blinked and said evenly, "You wouldn't." Pushing open the doors, Kagome stepped inside and let the cool air flow over her body. "Oh, dearest Sango-chan; just like you've been spending too much time with Miroku-kun, I've spent time with the blackmailing queen Korasu Yuki."

Laughing at her friend's face, Kagome walked over into the elevator and pushed the button for the third floor. "Coming?" She called back, causing Sango to run and push the elevator doors back open as they began to close on her.

"You wouldn't dare! Kagome-chan!" Sango whined as the elevator began to move up to the third floor where Kikyou's apartment room was. All Sango got in response was a mysterious smile that didn't fit on Kagome's face. It was the dreaded gossip smile – the kind a girl gets when they have the juiciest gossip and would tell anyone and everyone in the world about. Never in all her life had Kagome been one to gossip, so seeing that smile on her face was unnerving to say the least.

Stepping around Sango like a hawk circles a mouse, Kagome shook her head. She licked her lips before winking at Sango, who looked terrified at this new side of Kagome. Chuckling, Kagome came to a stop in front of her friend after circling her three times, and got in Sango's face. "Now, now, Sango-chan. I would _love_ to." She whispered in a seductive tone.

The elevator 'pinged' and the doors opens, letting Kagome step out while Sango was frozen in her spot from shock. Smiling dazzlingly, as if the two girls had been talking about their favorite cartoon characters, Kagome called back, "Come Sango-chan! We must infiltrate Kikyou-chan's house! Move! Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two three, four."

Watching her friend march down the hall like army personnel snapped Sango to life. She ran to Kagome and kept quiet, shooting her friend weird looks before giving it up and chanting along with Kagome. Throughout the apartment, the customary greeting of two ecstatic females to their friend rang out... in the form of an army chant. "Hup, two, three, four! Hup, two, three, four! Move you lazy bums! Sergeant Uekibachi Kikyou is almost here!"

---

"What the hell was that!" Growling, a short black figured allowed the shadows strengthen his anger as he pointed an accusatory finger towards his comrade. "You! You let the girl slip from you! She was at your mercy, and you left because some half-assed teenage son of a bitch came around like he owned the place!" The sheer intensity of anger at which the man spoke sent all those in the room to their knees. The shadows grew and encompassed the room in their bleak judgment.

The man who sat in front of his master, accused for the crimes of 'mercy' – who dare think that he have such a word in his vocabulary he wondered – bowed his head. His face was etched in pain, not that of the body but that of the soul, as he responded in a dark tone. "You weren't there."

Those simple words hung in the air; eyes widened and some turned away. "What did you say?" The leader demanded menacingly, reaching down next to him. All of the others in the room shrank back from his dispassionate gaze, turning their pitying eyes to the one on trial. Opening his mouth to form a reply, the master spoke again, chilling the room. "What the hell did you say!" Whipping his arm around, a sickening crack resonated throughout the room. "Fool." He sneered, dismissing the other members, who horridly turned and left. He followed them to the door before looking back and whispering, "You were a fool to think that you could defy me."

On the ground lay the man who had been on trial. Out of his mouth blood trickled to the floor, his back sporting a deep gash that went though his heart, dark red lining the floor under him. His eyes were shut in pain, as were his fists. Slowly sitting up, he spit more of the life-giving liquid out of his mouth, the red absorbed into the shadows. Around him, dancing mockingly, spots faded in and out of existence. He tried to stand, pulling his torso up weakly, only to land on the soaked ground with a muffled scream. Covered in blood that contrasted his formally lively clothes, the man glared past the door, screaming with his soul, _"You weren't there!"_

He wormed his way, slowly and sluggishly, back to his quarters where he could recuperate. Every few minutes, he would cough up blood, but managed to make it to his door anyway. Quite glad that he hadn't closed it all the way, the man nudged it open, crawled inside and lay exhausted after kicking the door closed. He stared at the gray carpet past his nose before closing his eyes, soul still screaming to be heard, _"You weren't there! The boy-"_ At last, his soul lay quiet, exhausted, and tried to heal the body, whispering what the boss would never learn. The boy would had come and stopped his fun wasn't ordinary – quite the contrary – but the master would not know, not until he faced the boy himself.

---

Akari skipped around the garden that she tended to, waiting for Raikou to come out of the shower. She sighed happily thinking of the life that they had together. Of course he demanded a lot of attention – what man didn't? But, then again, she did too, and they were all too happy to put the other in the spotlight. They were in love; beautifully, blissfully in love. She did not know of a better way to spend the rest of her existence than with her soul mate.

Hearing her koishii yell at the water caused her to laugh. It was always like this; she would take a walk in the garden as Raikou took a shower, but before he finished, the water would turn freezing cold. Raikou would end up cursing – of all things – the water out and walk out side after getting dressed to see Akari on her knees laughing.

This time, Raikou forgot that he had to change into his clothes and came out dripping wet, a towel hanging around his waist. "The damn water just had to fucking turn cold, didn't it!" He yelled, stamping his foot to the floor, before looking up and leaning against the doorframe.

"So, how many times does this make it?" He asked as Akari closed her eyes in a vain effort to stop from laughing in front of Raikou. "Make what?" She managed to get out, turning around. "The number of times I've made you scream." He responded dryly. Akari looked at him and squeaked out, "Raikou-kun! Put some clothes on right now!"

Watching as she covered her eyes with her hands, the blush on her cheeks burning the air, Raikou sent her a strange look. "You didn't seem to mind when we had sex." He muttered, stalking back in the house. "My original question," Raikou yelled back to Akari, who stared after him in shock, "Was how many times does that make for the water turning cold while I took a shower?" He shut the door of his room, not waiting to here her indignant yell of, "Kami forbid, Raikou-kun, I'll kill you!"

Watching after the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with walk into the house to get dressed, Akari shook her head, muttering her mantra for whenever he did something like this. "Typical, typical male… so typical…" She turned around and walked into her garden, sitting down next to a sakura tree.

"Of course, that doesn't mean that he's like that every time." She mused, before thinking of the one man who never acted like that, no matter who he saw. "Ah, my dear sweet brother, where are you? There have been so many things you've missed… Our very own Chūya has found herself someone only two weeks after you left. I wonder if you would have found your soul mate in the time you left. You never showed interest in girls; you treated everyone like they were precious, and that is why so many have cried for your absence. Many of the other girls that admired you still hold on their promises to capture your heart. Where are you, dearest older brother?"

"Still trying to figure out what happened to the old chump?" Raikou's voice startled Akari out of her thoughts, and she craned her neck to look at him. "You know that he was pretty much our strongest other than the big man himself. I bet that if the old man were challenged, you're brother would have the title in two seconds flat. So just relax; he's fine."

Frowning, Akari just turned away. "How do you know? We haven't had contact with him in forever! He could be dead or dying! My brother always told me where he was going! I can't believe how insensitive you can be!" She threw her hands into the air in exasperation.

Raikou sat down behind her and began to braid her hair, avoiding her hands, which tried to bat his hands away. "It's not called being insensitive, love, it's called having complete faith in your brother's ability." Taking in her now angry look, her mouth opening to respond, he quickly finished, "It's not that you don't trust him, it's just that you _are_ a girl."

The slap sounded throughout the neighborhood. "Oh, so you think that because I'm a girl, I'm handicapped or something? Well let me tell you," Akari seethed, standing, beginning to back away, "You men are so stupid, thinking that _everything_ revolves around-" Raikou jumped up and pulled her to his chest, never giving her a chance to finish.

"Shush," He soothed, "It's not that you're handicapped. It's not even your fault that you're a girl; it might not even be because you're a girl. You just get really emotional when things start happening to people you care for. It's not wrong; it's just how you deal with things." Akari stopped her struggle and listened to his voice. "Me, on the other hand… I bottle it up inside, and I feel there's only one way to get rid of all that pent up emotion."

Looking up as Raikou's voice stopped, Akari blinked and did the perfect impression of a fish. "Oh. So you mean that all of that last night…?" Startled, Raikou coughed and let go of Akari, shuffling his feet. "Er… well, kinda… not _really_…" He tried to emphasis, only to have Akari say, "Well, then, you have ten seconds."

Now doing his own impression of a fish, Raikou shouted, "Oh shit!" Before he ran out of the garden and into the house, locking doors rapidly in his wake. Doubling over in her mirth, Akari started following him, unlocking each door, only to lock them again after stepping inside. She smiled wickedly, her entire posture screaming, _"The time has come, my friend, to pay the toll man…"_

---

Stepping to the music playing through his headphones, Kouga turned the corner towards where his cousin lived. Ayame had told him to come over after school, and that was what he intended to do. It didn't matter that it was almost dark out, nor did it matter that his mom had actually kicked him out for being rude instead of letting him out after he finished his homework. Seeing the white house coming up on his left, Kouga jogged across the street and knocked on the door.

Earlier, right after Ayame caught Kouga walking to his car to inform him that she would walk home, she told him about what she wanted to do. Rather than flat out ask Inuyasha if he would duel her in the family dōjō, Ayame planned a series of different encounters where she could see his strength and whether or not he knew the martial arts.

For her plan, Ayame would need a provoker, just someone who could get under Inuyasha's skin and coax him into attacking. Kouga had already proven an ample being for this job, so she asked him to help her out. It was more like she threatened him on the price of his life until he agreed, quite scared by all of her treats. In his mind, there was no doubt that she would keep to her words of extreme torture.

Finally, the door to Ayame's house opened, her father lightly glaring at Kouga. "Eh… Hey Uncle!" The older man just shook his head, and opened the door wider for Kouga to enter. "My sister called and told me what happened." Kouga's eyes widened and he scratched his neck nervously. "Oh, yeah… about that… tell her I'm sorry, would ya? I'm over here 'cause Ayame-chan told me to-"

Springing onto Kouga was the redheaded bundle of joy and flowers in the flesh. Pulling on Kouga's arm, she dragged him up the stairs, not even letting him take off his shoes completely. "Thanks for letting him in, dad! I'll take it from here! Tell Auntie that Kouga-kun's safe with me!" With that, Ayame shoved Kouga into her room and slammed the door shut.

"Okay cousin, what did you do to my aunt? Dad was whining about his sister's 'damn son' who didn't have my bright disposition and expert manners and made me listen to the rant of what he would do to you if you didn't apologize real soon." Ayame paced in her room, before glaring at Kouga and pushing him on her green-sheeted bed. "So what the _hell_ did you do to make Auntie so mad!"

Gulping, Kouga smiled at his cousin sheepishly. Trying to distract himself from the pain he knew was to come, he looked at the room that was Ayame's pride and joy. The walls were painted in a forest scene, thanks to Ayame, being that she was a great artist, and the ceiling was the sky on a clear and starry night. Scattered across the floor was clothes of all types, but the majority of them being underwear and T-shirts. But, as all good things come to an end, Ayame's voice brought Kouga back from one of his fantasies about a different girl in the underwear that his cousin had so carelessly thrown on the floor.

"What the hell you looking at, pervert!" She growled, punching Kouga's arm before backing off and letting him stand up. "So what was the deal with you and your mom?" She queried again, receiving an embarrassed look from the macho cousin she loved so dearly.

Clearing his throat, Kouga began. "You see, mom wouldn't let me come over here to see you until after dinner, so I told her that you'd be asleep before you hit the pillow, because by the time I walked over here, it would be your curfew. She said that I could talk to you in the morning or the weekend if I had to go over to your house. I said that it had to be done today, where upon I slammed my fist on the counter. Mom, thinking that I was mad at her, told me to go up to my room and do my homework before talking to her again. Of course, knowing me, I didn't just leave it at that, nor did I apologize, so I kind of…"

Raising an eyebrow, Ayame finished, "So you kind of cursed her out? You ditz! I thought the term applied to females only, but it has a very special application for you Kouga-kun!" Ayame pounded into one of her pillows before turning to Kouga, looking like she'd kill him for being mean to his mom. "You march your sorry ass back over to your house and apologize to your mom this instant you jackass!" She picked him up – as much as she could, being five inches shorter than him – walked out of her room and threw him down the stairs. "I won't talk to you before you do!"

Ayame's dad stood near the open door and said, almost pityingly, "You told her didn't you?" At a nod from Kouga, he helped the boy up and gave him a firm shove outside the house. "Now go apologize to your mom and Ayame will forgive you. Have a good day!" Smiling unnaturally brightly, Shōnin-san slammed the door shut.

Looking perplexedly at the house his cousin called home, Kouga turned around and began the half-hour trek to his own house. "Oh, sure. They think I'm eccentric." He muttered as he jumped over an alley fence, knowing that he'd cut his journey by ten minutes if he went through the alley. Looking around cautiously, Kouga took a few steps forward until he was sure there was no one there, and began to walk confidently.

Hearing a shallow scream just ahead of him, Kouga started and peered into the dark shadows that had suddenly surrounded him. He saw three figures stab a fourth figure continuously before letting the downed figure alone and looked up – directly at him. Stepping backwards, Kouga began to run as a deep laugh, full of mocking, reached his ears.

"Looks like we have a second one, boys." The dark figures approached Kouga as he tried to scramble over the wall, pulling him down by his ankles and slamming him to the cold cement of the alley floor. Laughing as their victim's vision spun a bit, they began to stab Kouga with small daggers. Looking up to their faces shrouded in the dark, Kouga tried to focus in on any facial features, but spots clouded parts of his vision.

"Don't try too hard kid. You will never know who we are." Again the beings laughed, cold and contemptuous, as Kouga's vision swam and faded to black…

---

Ending Note: 4,535 words! Beat that down! Plenty of people who can… but oh well! It is an improvement from the 4,022 word of before – the dark ringleader and poor guy who got beat on weren't in my original version.

Just to explain: Raikou and Akari are important to the plot later on, but for now, they just kind of are there to make people laugh at their stupidity. I know that I fell of my chair as I wrote their scene! (Raikou's a pervert – never thought I'd see the day!) So don't mind that they get their own little section – I just need someone to talk my mind off the less joyous stuff… But there is lots of foreshadowing where the pair is concerned. Review and see if you can guess who they are talking about – the person who is Akari's brother – and I'll tell you if you're right! He's already been mentioned at least once. I've gone back and checked.


	5. Chapter 4: Spectral Murder

**City of Angels**

by Rikaku

General Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I own this plot, Touken-san, Akari-chan, Raikou-kun, Sagi-chan, Fukeru-chan, Kuyamu-kun, Katsume-san, and Yoko-san.

Genre: Romance/Angst/Adventure

Written: January 24, 2006, January 28, 2006, January 29, 2006, February 11, 2006, and February 18, 2006

Posted: February 19, 2006

Author's Note: Sorry for the unwarrantable lateness of this chapter. I have an explanation though. Three words actually: Mandatory Science Fair.

Chapter 4: Spectral Murder

---

"Bah! We learned almost nothing yesterday at Kikyou-chan's place." Sango said, turning to Kagome while they walked to school. Today, they had made sure to get out of the house early enough so that they wouldn't have to sprint all the way to school and still have time to mingle with their other friends. "Not true." Kagome said quietly. When Sango turned her head towards her best friend, Kagome embellished.

"We learned what apartment he stays in, and that his mom and Yoko-san were friends. That's more than we knew yesterday. Plus, we finally got to meet Kikyou-chan's boyfriend. She would have had to drag that guy away from his job if we tried to meet him any other time." Kagome looked up to Sango and smiled when her friend nodded her head. "Yeah sure. But we completely wasted the rest of our time."

The Day Before

"Oh my Kami-sama! You mean that he was the guy you ran into in the hallway!" Kikyou squealed, staring wide-eyed at Sango. Kagome sat in Kikyou's computer chair, spinning around while her friend went hysterical, trying to figure out how someone like Inuyasha had let Sango get away with bumping into him in the school hall. Sango rolled her eyes and waited for Kikyou's fit to end, flopping backward onto the overly dramatic girl's white-sheeted bed.

After Kagome and Sango had arrived at Kikyou's door, the other girl had dragged them inside, insisting that hey finally get to meet her boyfriend, Naraku Yūgure, whom she had told them about but never had a chance to introduce. The tall and lanky boy had reminded Kagome an awful lot of Inuyasha; they both were fairly tall, had oddly long black hair – though Inuyasha's was longer since Kikyou was in the middle of giving Naraku a makeover – and seemed very shy and quiet at first. It was only a little later on that he told both Kagome and Sango that he was in the military – more specifically, the training sergeant – and met Kikyou when her older brother signed up for military service. With surprised looks to each other, Kagome and Sango silently related his calm and subtly dangerous demeanor to Inuyasha, who had demonstrated his abilities the first five minutes of class.

Kikyou having finished fixing his hair to military regulation (which Naraku had skirted by stuffing it into a hat) the man left the girls with a smile, saying that he probably had a few rookies getting in trouble at the camp while he was away. Sango and Kagome complimented Kikyou on her good choice, to which the other girl blushed and accepted their views quietly. Then, after fixing some snacks, the girls piled into Kikyou's room and began to talk about the subject of their surprise visit – Inuyasha.

That was how they got to where they were currently at; a hysterical Kikyou, an immensely bored Kagome, and an exasperated Sango. "Gah! Kikyou-chan! It's not that big of a deal!" Sango finally yelled, catching Kikyou's attention. "Kagome and I just wanted to know if that was him you saw moving here last week." Stopping the chair with her foot – inevitably making Kagome fall face first into the floor – Kikyou looked up thoughtfully. Kagome just grumbled while getting back up into her previous position, minus the spinning.

Looking back at her friends, Kikyou answered, "Yeah. I think he was the one that took up Yoko-san's old apartment across the way back there. I heard that the elder man was a friend of Inuyasha-kun's mother, so he gave the apartment to Satsujin-san when he moved back to his daughter. Something like that anyway." Kikyou said while waving her hand in the air.

"Wow. I never knew that Yoko-san moved back to his daughter's place." Kagome stopped sulking and looked at Sango in surprise. "You mean you didn't pay attention the last time we went to see Yoko-san! He told us that we could have a few of his old collectibles because he wouldn't be able to take all of them to his daughter's house, Katsume Kumari was her name, and then we grabbed his old tennis trophy and all that stuff!"

Gabbing a pillow off of Kikyou's bed, Sango threw it at Kagome's head, mumbling under her breath. "You!" Kagome fumed, clutching the pillow. Kikyou snatched her own pillow and threw it at Sango, who was flabbergasted. "What was that for? I hope you know that this means war!" They all declared, throwing around any pillow in the room that they could find. For the rest of the night, dull thuds were heard from the Uekibachi residence.

Present

"Yeah. We did, didn't we?" Smiling, both girls walked up to the school, where the majority of the student population was gathering at the door. "What's going on here?" One of the girls in their class called out from the edge of the crowd. The boy next to her answered, just as Kagome and Sango walked up. "I heard that Kouga-kun was found dead in an alley this morning. The police say that there were multiple stab wounds, and he'd been dead for at least six hours before they'd found him."

The three girls gasped, and they turned to each other. "Who could have done something like that?" Kagome asked the others in a subdued tone. Just then, Ayame came around to their group, and walked up to Kagome. "They say that he was stabbed by several people; gang violence. People talk and were saying that Inuyasha-kun had done it, but I know he didn't. I just talked to Inuyasha-kun, and he said that Kouga-kun may have been a jackass, but he still kinda liked him." Without warning, Ayame burst out crying, and before anyone could comfort her, Inuyasha came up from behind, spun her around, and pulled the distraught girl into a hug.

At first glance, Inuyasha seemed so indifferent, almost psychopathically gleeful at Kouga's death, but upon further examination, anyone could tell that he was pissed off at what happened. His violet eyes were narrowed into slits before he shut them completely, his posture tense. "Don't worry, Ayame-chan, I'll get the fucking cowards who did this to your cousin. I hate bastards that kill innocents." He just continued to pat the girl's back as she sobbed into his black shirt. In the background, everyone heard the principal say that school was closed for the day.

---

Walking away from the school angrily, Inuyasha almost shot the lamppost he was about to run into. Quickly putting away his revolver, before anyone could see it, Inuyasha stuck out his foot and kicked the lamppost, wincing when he heard the metal creak. "Damn it all!" He shouted, earning a glare from one of the elderly couples passing by. He bowed lowly to them in apology – obviously surprising them because they spoke quietly about some of the youth finally getting some manners – before stiffly walking away.

"Damn." He hissed out, clenching his fists. Sure enough, Kouga's death wasn't his fault, but if he had only stayed up a bit later, maybe he would have noticed. "Damn." If he hadn't been so eager to get away from reality, Inuyasha was sure he could have stopped this one murder. He was almost positive of who'd done the crime. "Damn." Those people had already gotten started on Tokyo, and there wasn't anyone here who knew about them – at least not to Inuyasha's knowledge – so they were a bit behind. No matter, Inuyasha was sure that in the end, those people wouldn't win. "Damn."

Looking up at his apartment building, the one Yoko-san's father had given to him because of the mission, Inuyasha felt so stupid. _'Only three blocks – three fucking blocks – from here! They attacked a kid three blocks from here and no doubt someone else. Shit…'_ Heading in the opposite direction of his building, back the way he'd come, Inuyasha happened along a small park, hidden by all of the building of Tokyo. Strolling through, he stopped when he spotted a small bench near a pond.

Sitting down, he pulled up his legs and ran his hand through his hair, Inuyasha tried to figure out who was on duty in the area. Before, he would have never even thought of asking for help, but he had a different assignment at the moment, so it couldn't be helped. If he left his protégé unprotected, there was no way that he could stay with his current job.

Looking over the pond, Inuyasha sighed before getting up to walk back to his apartment. There was a report of his first two days due, and he would be an idiot to forget to mention the recent increase in 'gang violence' and the death of one of his classmates. Breathing out slowly, he noticed four shadows heading his way, from behind the tree on the other side of the pond.

Being a professional investigator, Inuyasha felt as though he had to inspect these four figures. He was surprised to see Kagome, Sango, and two others. One was another girl named Kikyou – she was in his first period class – and the fourth was a man. "Hey." Inuyasha said casually, causing the four to turn his way. The man, looked surprised, and Inuyasha had to do his best to keep his face from showing surprise as well.

"Hi Inuyasha-kun!" Sango, Kagome, and Kikyou cheered. They all held sandwiches, presumably what was to have been their lunch at school, and were taking bites out of them, talking in between. Kikyou suddenly realized the perplexed look on the face of the man sitting next to her. "Oh yeah! Inuyasha-kun, meet my boyfriend, Yūgure Naraku. Naraku-kun, this is Satsujin Inuyasha, the new kid at our school."

Naraku sent Inuyasha a blank look and then bobbed his head in greeting and Inuyasha did the same; neither said a word. As if not noticing the tension between the two males, Kagome smiled and said, "Why don't you join us for our brunch? We were just discussing where Naraku should take Kikyou out to for the night. It's kinda funny to see Naraku-kun and Kikyou-chan turn red!" Kikyou shot Kagome a look and yelled, "Oh yeah! Well, let's see how you fare when we do the same to you and whoever becomes your boyfriend!"

Kikyou tried to pounce Kagome, and Kagome tried to punch Kikyou, but both were held back – Kikyou by Naraku; Kagome by Sango. Inuyasha just stood there, trying not to laugh. It wasn't the time to be having fun; after all, Kouga had just been found murdered in an alleyway. _'I have to get back home and do those damn reports… bloody hell…'_ Successfully stifling his laughter, Inuyasha waved his hands in a 'calm down woman' manner, and said, "I'd love to, but I have to get home. I just wanted to see who was here. See ya tomorrow at school."

He began to walk away to a chorus of 'goodbye'. After he stepped onto the sidewalk right outside of the park, Naraku ran up to him. Pursing his lips, Naraku looked at Inuyasha darkly. "What are you doing here?" Inuyasha just glanced up and grinned. "Keh. I'm doing my job. Fucking idiots at the headquarters sent me on guard duty for Higurashi-san."

Grinning himself, Naraku patted Inuyasha's back. "Hah. I see you're going fine undercover. I barely saw any expression of surprise; and me only, because I'm a trained agent. You're doing good kid!" Flipping Naraku's hand over, Inuyasha shook it and boasted, "It's been a pleasure to see you… but honestly, you know as well as I do that I'm _way_ older than you!"

Naraku stuck his tongue out and said, "Fine, fine… _old man._ I'll see you at the meeting in like… three weeks right?" Furrowing his eyebrows, Inuyasha tapped a finger to his chin, "Meh? Three weeks? I could've sworn that it was at least six. Well, anyhow, I've got to go home and do a report, or that ice king Taishou Sesshoumaru will have my head on a silver plate."

"Yeah." Naraku nodded his head in agreement. "I'd better not keep Kikyou-chan waiting. She's a bitch when you make her wait for anything!" Waving his hand in farewell, Naraku jogged away as Inuyasha strode in the opposite direction. _'Well, at least Naraku is here on free leave. I think he took off the month or something… Now I know why.'_

Slowly, Inuyasha walked at a leisurely pace to his apartment. Indeed, with Naraku here, there wasn't a way for the others to win. How could they with two of the most experienced agents on the case? Simple; they couldn't. Looking up at the sky, Inuyasha smiled, feeling for the first time in two years as if he were flying.

"They can't be allowed to win… and they won't."

---

Frowning at the man sitting in the chair across from him, a large shadow, for that was all it could be called, was twiddling its unseen fingers. The young man flexed his shoulders in a nervous gesture, not entirely sure why he had been called upon by his great master. As if reading the boy's thoughts, white teeth shinned from within the depths of darkness, and red eyes opened to captivate its servant's emerald eyes.

"…Do you know why you have been called upon by me, Shippou?" The shadow spook, its words chilling the room and freezing the lesser shadows in place. Suddenly, as if Judgment Day, thousands of white eyes stared at the younger man, blank but somehow malicious. Chilling at the sudden drop in temperature, the man named Shippou shook his head childishly. "No great master. I do not know why I have been called upon someone as high as yourself…" He breathed out of thin lips.

Smiling in contempt of his servant's submissive manner, he leaned forward, the two flashing red eyes leering at the boy. "Now, Shippou, have long have you been with me? Twelve years?"

Blinking at his master, Shippou corrected, "No, great master. You have been my mentor for nearly three decades. But, if I may be allowed to say, it does seem as though only a dozen years." Nodding, the great master turned his eyes away from his servant and said airily, "Well, what does it matter? You should really learn to call me by my name, dearest Shippou. You are, of course, my most beloved assassin."

Letting a small smile slip, fang peaking over his lip, Shippou answered, "But master, that would be disrespectful! I shall never disrespect one such as you." Shippou watched the eyes of his master shift to the door, before the crimson pair faded into the darkness with the white sets of eyes. He sat uncomfortably as the silence drew out, until the sound of shuffling papers was heard. Pinpointing the noise, Shippou was able to make out the obscured form of his master.

"Very well, Shippou. If that is the case, it matters not to me. I have your next target. Please be careful; I have heard that an investigation team based up in Kyoto has sent one of their agents to guard the area. Tokyo is now a top priority on their list it seems. The recent assassinations that we have done in the area caught their attention." Grumbling, the master stepped into partial view of Shippou, his long black hair flowing past his hips. "Don't mess this one up!" He called, slightly too cheery for his normal disposition, before vanishing in a flurry of black.

Blinking in distaste at the pungent smell that assaulted his nose, Shippou opened the file, greeted by ink stamped paper regarding his next job. Glancing at the picture of the victim, his eyes widened. He took in the innocence that seemed to shine from the picture – the black and white school uniform and brown buckle shoes before sliding up to the face. There, he was forced to stifle his gasp.

Black, albeit slightly messy, hair framed a peach skinned face, full lips, smart little nose, and deep mahogany eyes that shone with happiness and innocence stared back at him. Shippou looked at the name before completely losing his composure. "How in all the hells does Onigumo-sama expect me to kill Higurashi-san's only daughter!"

---

"Oh bloody… Fucking stupid…" Inuyasha walked through his apartment room, trying desperately to find his keys so he could leave and post his report off. Only hours earlier, he'd finished all of his homework (he had forgotten completely about his calculus homework the day before) and the report for Taishou-san. Now he wanted to get rid of the twenty-page stack of papers before he lost them himself. He never had much luck remembering where anything was, and now wasn't any exception.

"Okay… first I was there, then I moved there, and lastly I was there grabbing my taxes. No. Wait. Wasn't I over there with my taxes? Hold on… Where are my taxes now? Oh shit, don't tell me this is happening. I thought I dealt with enough of this last year…" Groaning in distaste, he flopped onto the couch and let his head fall on the armrest. "I really could do without all of this crap. Why do I even need to pay taxes anyway? I work for the frickin' government! Er… well maybe not the government, but close enough it shouldn't matter."

He sighed and sat there for a little while, just staring off into space. Minutes ticked by, the clock mocking his idleness. Sticking his tongue out at nothing in particular, he stood and picked up his report. "Oh well. This isn't due for another three days technically. I'm sure to find those keys and my taxes before then."

Shuffling to his bedroom, Inuyasha dropped the report next to his school backpack and slinked off to the kitchen; it was dinnertime, after all. He turned up the radio as he took out some rice, carrots, leaks, and other things to cook. Once he finished frying everything and anything edible in his small adobe, Inuyasha sat down to eat, stuffing his face faster that someone could say, "Pig!" The radio continued to play in the background as Inuyasha got up and put all of the plates to wash. He turned to music off, opting to go to bed, and as he turned to look at the radio, he saw it.

"Oh. Fuck."

Inuyasha's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, staring at the red circle marked on the calendar, the words "_Return_" written in black Sharpie. The appointment was set for only seven days – one week – away. Shaking his head, Inuyasha backed up and swept his arm out, knocking the pile of tax forms and his keys off the counter. "Shit! We were both wrong! The rendezvous date is only one week from today!"

'_No way, no way! I can't only have seven days to complete my mission! I didn't even get a return notice last month!'_ Inuyasha frantically thought, scrambling for the phone, all of his self-control – what he was known for by everyone in the firm – crumbling at his feet and being swept away by the wind. Quickly, he dialed Naraku's cell phone number, only to get the message system. "No, no, no! You can't be doing your girlfriend, dumbass! You have to be there!"

Hissing out more curses, Inuyasha grabbed his coat off the rack, ran back into the kitchen, picked his keys off the floor, and scrambled out the door. Slamming the wood door shut and locking it, he frantically rushed down the stairs of the apartment into the cool night air. Looking in all directions, Inuyasha took a chance, and went to find Naraku the only way he knew how…

---

Life has its own little quirks built in for everyone of every race, gender, shape, size, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. One quirk for being Naraku… he got so much personally leave time stuffed into one month it wasn't even funny. Of course, that was why he spent time with his girlfriend, Kikyou, who was the light of his world, the smell of perfume after standing in pigsty. Not that Kikyou wore perfume all that often, or that the army grounds were a pigsty, even if they _did _smell like one.

"Naraku-kun! Pay attention when I ask you a question!" Kikyou sat across from him, her eyes narrowed and blazing with a hidden fire that she normally smothered under her cheery attitude. Sticking her tongue out at Naraku, Kikyou turned slightly and picked up a menu. "So, like I was saying, do you think I should have miso soup and that one dish from Europe that I can never pronounce the name of?"

"Eh… sure…? I think it really depends upon which European dish you are talking about, Kikyou-chan." Naraku bit his bottom lip and blinked innocently when Kikyou glared at him lightly. Apparently, she had already told him which one she was talking about and he'd been too caught up in his thoughts to listen. Somehow Inuyasha always managed to get away with spacing out, especially when it _looked_ like he was spacing out… how did he do that?

Pouting, Kikyou batted her own eyelashes and stood up saucily. "Well! I guess I'm far too boring to be with the likes of you! Good day sir." She began moving towards the door, hips swishing from side to side, catching Naraku's attention. So caught up in watching her leave, he didn't realize exactly what she was doing until she open the door.

"Oh shit! Kikyou-chan!" Naraku dashed to the door, ignoring the perturbed looks everyone else in the restaurant was giving them. The employees just stared after Naraku and one leaned towards the closest couple, asking quite loudly, "He spaced out, didn't he?" At the elderly couples nods, one of the other waiters shook his head. "After the fifth time, you think he'd learn, eh?" Shrugging, everyone went back to their own business.

Meanwhile, Naraku tracked down Kikyou easily, being that the girl couldn't run in high heels so flimsy they looked as if they would shatter at the first step. Grabbing her arm he swung her around and muttered into her ear, "I'm sorry! I'm such a jackass. I'm so sorry!" Giggling, Kikyou said, "But still, after the fifth time, you think you'd learn, huh?"

Blanching, Naraku started to turn bright red, and it wasn't from anger. "Uh… what I mean is… eh? What did you…? You mean… mad… no?" Fighting the inexcusable shortage of words, Naraku tried to speak again, only getting out a few more, "Eh" and "Uh" syllables before Kikyou shut him up.

Breaking from the kiss, Kikyou smiled warmly and said, "No, I'm not mad. But still-" She boxed his ears before kissing his cheek again and pouting. "You should listen to me next time. I really want to actually be able to **_eat_** in that restaurant one of these days! It's supposedly one of the best international restaurants, owned by some former freelance journalist who lives in Zambia now. I want to eat there!"

Naraku's own stomach made the universal noise of growling before he said, "And I wanna plain old eat. Let's head back to my place, like we do every week after we go through this!" Hand in hand, they both headed out to Naraku's apartment complex, neither having noticed the ever so quiet ring of Naraku's cell phone.

But now and again, humans must take in their personal quirks' consequences. Nature has built in its own system of equality, so one mustn't forget that all of those wonderful quirks in life come with a price. Unfortunately, today was Naraku's day of compensation, for standing outside his apartment door, cool and collected, was Inuyasha himself. This was almost like one of those, 'Speak of the devil and he shall appear' cases, as Naraku was wondering what the man did during his free time without a girl at his side.

'_Oh wicked irony, this must be what he does… annoy the hell out of people with girlfriends…'_ No matter how much he'd say this against Inuyasha, Naraku knew this wasn't true. In fact, the only time he'd heard of Inuyasha ever inadvertently interrupting anyone was right before the war. _'And what a bloody war that was. Without his warning, we'd all have been wiped out. Funny since he is partly from their side…'_

"Inuyasha-kun!" Kikyou squealed, quite surprised by her classmate's appearance at her boyfriend's door. Inuyasha nodded an acknowledgement to Kikyou before turning his piercing gaze towards Naraku. The demanding look had Naraku rooted to his spot before Inuyasha spoke coldly, in a tone that would send anyone unaccustomed to it screaming in fear. Emotion in speech was never appreciated until one heard someone speak with absolutely no emotion in it. Even Sesshoumaru Taishou spoke with some sort of feeling, albeit the particular feeling he always spoke with being disgust.

"We need to talk." Holding the shivering Kikyou closely, Naraku blinked once and feigned innocence, trying to get his friend out from his emotionless state. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it." Naraku responded, grinning slightly as Inuyasha stuck his tongue out and straightened from leaning against the wall. Kikyou seemed to be getting colder – or perhaps feeling afraid of Inuyasha – and was shivering worse than a trained dancer during a seductive dance session. Looking towards her, Naraku handed he the keys and told her, "Go on inside; I'll be right there."

Nodding, the girl skittered away, leaving the two men standing out in the hallway; one with the air of a dog who just lost his favorite bone and the other serious as a pincushion. _'However, one must decide if a pincushion can be serious at all… Where the hell does an expression like that come from anyway?'_ Shaking his head to clear his random thoughts, Naraku yawned. "Waddya need, Yasha-kun? I really want to eat and get back to my girlfriend."

"Spend as much time with your girlfriend as you can and then try to get shipped off to some randomly obscure military post in Africa, Naraku-kun. We leave in one week." Inuyasha spoke calmly, smiling a slightly ironic grin. "It seems as though, my dear friend, this will be the last you will see of your girlfriend in at least a decade… and that would be considered the minimum."

Mouth open in shock, Naraku stared at Inuyasha before grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. "What the fuck! What the fuck! What the fuck happened to our return notices!" He shouted, forgetting that Kikyou was on the other side of the door and that there were other people in the apartment. Shrugging off his hands, Inuyasha suggested, "They got lost in the mail?"

"Don't patronize me." Naraku practically growled out. He began pacing in front of Inuyasha, rapidly moving his feet. "Um… Okay, so we leave in a week right? What have we found out? How will you handle the Higurashi case?" Inuyasha closed his eyes and pinched his nose, reciting like an automated machine.

"All we know is that the militants are hiding somewhere in Japan and possibly the United States. We have agents over there, and currently there are one hundred fourteen agents here in Japan, us included. The first batch, consisting of seventy-three personal are due back next week. Somewhere within the confines of the major cities of Kyoto and Tokyo, perhaps a few others, is a group of renegade militants that are murdering innocents and mainly our informants. Within the last three months, the number of spies has reduced from one thousand five hundred thirty-two to only six hundred fifty four. Most of those killed had lived within Kyoto and Tokyo. This recent increase in assassinations within the cities of Tokyo and Kyoto give us reason to believe that their headquarters are in either one or both of these cities. Frankly, I have no idea how to handle the Higurashi case. Something tells me that they will be after her next."

"Would they actually be so bold to go after Higurashi-san's daughter?" Naraku stopped pacing and looked over to the slumping Inuyasha. The boy was having a tough day, and by the looks of everything, it was only getting worse. "Yes, I do believe they would. If they can prove to get one of the richest men's daughters, then those militants will have secured a position within this society. I can't leave, but we must."

Sighing, Naraku laid his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Don't worry; you'll figure something out. You always do." The only response he got was Inuyasha slipping away and blending into the shadows, a haunted whisper of, "But this isn't always. Always doesn't exist." Shivering at his comrade's words, Naraku opened his door, only to find a pale-faced Kikyou staring back at him.

"What was that about?" She asked in a subdued tone. When Naraku gave her no answer and simply closed the door, Kikyou asked louder, "What was that about?"

---

Ending Note: 4,840 words …

Random Quote:

"It was involuntary. They sank my boat." John F. Kennedy


	6. Chapter 5: Soulless Creatures

**City of Angels**

by Rikaku

General Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not own Hello Kitty. I definitely don't own Toyota, though my family owns two of their individual cars. I own this plot, Touken-san, Akari-chan, Raikou-kun, Sagi-chan, Fukeru-chan, Kuyamu-kun, Katsume-san and Yoko-san. I probably own the concept of superior stupidity, but I won't try to claim it in case some big shot got dibs on that first.

Genre: Romance/Angst/Adventure

Written: March 5, 2006, March 7, 2006, March 12, 2006, March 18, 2006, April 29, 2006, May 5, 2006, June 4, 2006, July 11, 2006

Semi-Revamped: August 4, 2007

Posted: August 4, 2007

Author's Note: Well this was long overdue… You can throw stuff at me at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 5: Soulless Creatures

---

Kikyou hated the silence. She had always been easily frightened as a child, according to her parents, and was uncomfortable in silence; it always reminded her of horror movies, which she did not like. One thing that always bothered her was how Naraku could keep quiet for so long, one would think him dead. As was such a time after Inuyasha had visited them during their picnic with Kagome and Sango. Now Kikyou was going to find out what about Inuyasha made Naraku so withdrawn.

"Naraku-kun? What's the matter? What was that all about?!" By the end of her sentence Kikyou was near hysterics. Naraku hadn't looked at her for more than two seconds before turning around and walking to the kitchen. Like a lost puppy, Kikyou followed him, her anger growing slightly, and fear consuming the rest of her.

Kikyou wasn't the kind of person to go into hysterics for no reason either. She was usually composed, and her friends could always count on her to be calm in most situations. This, however, didn't count as most situations, and no one else was there to look to her for guidance. Kikyou also believed in a proper time for everything, and this was, she felt, the proper time to scream and yell in dismay. Especially since Naraku was bringing out a glass cup and his bottle of vodka.

He was leaning against the counter, pouring the alcohol into his glass as if it were water. The only things Kikyou could truly think of were, _'What the hell was that between Naraku-kun and Inuyasha-kun?' _and _'Since when did Naraku-kun drink so much vodka?!'_ which both were rather perturbing questions. Naraku, for his part, was trying not to shiver at the intense glare that Kikyou pinned on his nearly full glass.

Kikyou walked over to Naraku, the silent mantra of _'No! Not my glass of vodka!'_ going through the latter's mind, and plucked the glass of vodka out of his hands, smashing it not two feet away – only as long as her arm could reach – before pinning Naraku with her wondrous glare. Naraku's attention was on his now destroyed glass of vodka, eyes longing to put the glass back together, suction the liquid back into the cup, clean of course, and just chug it down. Instead, he opted to turn to Kikyou.

"What the hell! I needed that!" Naraku whined like a two-year old, for he was now really in need of something strongly alcoholic to take his mind off of the absolutely atrocious situation that he and Inuyasha were in. If Kikyou hadn't known him better, she would have thought the stance he took, arms crossed over his shirt with pouting lips, quite cute. But, Kikyou knew him well, so she just slapped him. The slap wasn't at all hard, not like anything that Miroku would receive if he groped a girl's butt, yet it still made quite a noise. If they had been out on the sidewalk, everyone would have turned in their direction.

Rubbing his red cheek, Naraku looked at Kikyou's trembling body and then said, "Well, do you wanna know what was up between me and Inuyasha-kun?" Squeaking in surprise at her boyfriend's sudden words, Kikyou could only nod and be led to the table, where both she and Naraku sat down. Naraku looked at the table for a length of time before shifting his head to look at Kikyou.

"Just remember this: I could get in a hell of a lot of trouble for telling you this, so you can't say anything to anyone else!" His intense gaze focused on Kikyou, softening when she replied. "I promise I won't tell anyone Naraku-kun. Please tell me what's going on."

Nodding, Naraku once again shifted his eyes to the window, closed with dark green drapes tied with brown string. "Well, this all started a really long time ago. You weren't born yet. Frankly, no one that you have ever known within you lifetime would even had a glimpse of what tale I must weave for you to understand what goes on between me and the man you know as Satsujin Inuyasha. No matter how out of the world this sounds, it's all true Kikyou-chan. I met Inuyasha-kun on dry fields only so far of where we now sit…"

---

Sango and Kagome sat in the living room of the Higurashi household, not moving one inch. The door just to the right of where the two teens was resting opened, and Kagome's mother peaked her head into the room. She sighed as she took in the sight of he daughter and her best friend's daughter sitting motionless next to each other, eyes red and noses stuffy. Higurashi-san had heard about the young man, Kouga, who went to Kagome's school. Being a stay at home mother, Satsuki Higurashi had only seen the boy a few times, but he had waved to her.

It had been truly tragic at how they'd found the young man, in the alleyway near one of the wealthier apartment complexes. Multiple stab wounds had covered his body, and what used to be his clothes were pitiful rags. It was supposedly one of the neighbourhood's dogs that had found him. Kagome's own friend, Kikyou, as Satsuki heard, lived near the alleyway and refused to come out of the apartment without an escort. Personally, she didn't blame the young woman.

"Sweetheart, Sango-chan?" Higurashi-san waited until both girls had turned their heads toward her before she continued to speak. "I know how hard this must be for you, but I need you to go to your father's house Kagome. He is so worried about you and this death of your friend has him terribly anxious. Please come and speak to him over the phone."

Kagome got the darkest look in her eyes that Sango and Satsuki had ever seen. It was obvious that the poor girl would soon explode from all her tormenting emotions, and the only question left was how. Bowing her head, Kagome slowly stood, shoulders shaking and hands fisted.

Kouga and Kagome had been quite close before; one could even call them best friends until Sango moved to town. Both had gone to the same preschool and had become strong friends. After they entered elementary school, as Sango entered the scene, Kouga grew away from Kagome. It could all be blamed on the 'girls have cooties' stage. After fifth grade, they reconnected and remained good friends despite the fact that Kouga continuously tried to kiss her. Once Ayame came to live in Tokyo – having been somewhere in the middle of nowhere at boarding school – everything had become stable once again.

So, not only was Kouga's death affecting Ayame severely, but Kagome, who had come to see him as her older brother. Minus the fact, of course, that he had tried to kiss her in fifth grade. Kagome always defended him in that by reminding everyone else that it _**had**_ been their dare.

"No." Kagome whispered quietly. She lifted her mahogany eyes to look into her mother's hazel ones. Sango quietly left the room on the pretence she needed some water, seeing that this would become a mother-daughter situation. "No. I won't." Kagome repeated, staring the older woman down. Her mother gazed at her daughter sadly, before she shook her head. "You have to," Satsuki replied, "because I can't do anything against your father. Besides, wouldn't you rather be safe back at his house rather than here at the shrine?"

"No! I don't want to go to dad's house! I won't and you can't make me!" After finishing her tirade, Kagome turned and sprinted up the steps to her room, slamming the door once she was there. Sango walked over to the slightly disheartened mother and patted her shoulder lightly. "Eh, I guess this means she stays in Tokyo, ne? I'd let her calm down a bit before asking her to speak with her dad again. You know how Kagome-chan gets." With that, the teenager walked out the door, sending Higurashi-san a light wave.

Satsuki Higurashi closed and bolted the door before heading to the kitchen phone. She'd have to tell her ex-husband that Kagome was not in the mood to talk with anyone at the moment. _'Knowing him, however, he'll send a limo and try to kidnap my daughter just to keep her safe. He'd probably do that for Souta, too. Which reminds me, where is Souta…?'_

"Er… Higurashi Kajiya, please? No, I'm his ex-wife. Yes. No…" Talking on the phone to her former husband's head of security, Satsuki only knew that the day could get worse. "No, that's not my name. Higurashi Satsuki. No. Oh Kami-sama no! What…? You better not be talking about Kajiya-san. I'll kick his ass!"

It was a long enough day already…

---

Inuyasha grumbled, feeling very troubled all of a sudden. Maybe Naraku's girlfriend was asking questions, and he had to answer them. Or maybe it was that nagging feeling that he was being stalked around. Inuyasha wasn't really feeling all too great, no matter what the reason, and so when the shifty figure appeared at his door, it was only fair that he ripped out his gun and aimed, finger on the trigger, ready to pull.

But as the figure slowly became clearer, he was quite astonished. _'Looks like the kid went down fighting. Thank the Kamis he came now, even though I only have six days left…'_ He grumbled slightly, taking in the rugged appearance of his companion. Imagine to his surprise when a voice floated through the air, somewhat hesitant.

"I-Inuy-yasha-s-san…" The person gulped before squeezing his eyes tight. He muttered something that not even Inuyasha could catch. Cautiously, Inuyasha holstered his gun and walked forward, slowly reaching out his hand to the figure. Blue eyes opened slowly, and the being yelped when he saw Inuyasha walking towards him. "Inuyasha-san, you can see me?!"

Raising one eyebrow and sighing in slight annoyance, Inuyasha slapped his forehead with his outstretched arm. Weren't they supposed to have been informed of everything before he was seen? "Yes, I can see you, you numbskull! What the hell have you been doing to make you think that I wouldn't be able to see you? And! On that note, where were you? I thought you were supposed to be here last night! That's when it happened right? Well, whatever, now that you are here, I can get to work…" Inuyasha trailed off, moving towards the kitchen to get some water for his guest. "All right, don't just stand there! Sit down, damn it."

Startled by Inuyasha's rather snappish behaviour, the ghostly form moved towards the couch and sat down. It looked around the room, finding nothing out of the ordinary, and had to smile slightly as Inuyasha walked out of the kitchen with two glasses; one was of water and the other of some odd red liquid. Plopping down next to his company, Inuyasha handed him the glass of water with a look that clearly said, 'Don't gawk at it, drink!'

As he gulped down the water, surprised that he could even hold the glass, Inuyasha was chugging whatever he had gotten for himself. The blood red liquid looked rather disgusting, and anyone would have wondered why the young man was able to stand drinking it. It must have been the stress of seeing a ghost – probably some sort of super alcoholic drink. What colour was a Bloody Mary, anyway?

"So, Inuyasha-san, why can you see me? I have been standing next to about seventy different policemen, and none of them seemed to have noticed my presence. What makes you so special from all those other people that I've gone and tried to contact?" The figure was becoming even clearer, the clothes he wore no longer just blobs, and Inuyasha could even start to see individual fingers. _'Hey, look at that, the kid can regenerate pretty fast. This is quite amazing…' _Inuyasha thought, leaning back and still sipping his drink. _'Might actually be a useful ally, unlike the thousands of others I generally encounter.'_

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" The ghost was apparently not a very reverent nor patient type, and he obviously was really tired of being a ghost.

"Shove it kid. Yeah, heard you the first time. I don't answer to you." Inuyasha muttered something under his breath that sounded oddly like, "Kami-sama, you just can't expect kids these days to shut up, eh? So bloody nosey."

Inuyasha got up and walked to his bedroom, leaving the ghost gapping after him. Sitting on the couch all alone suddenly felt very, very bad. It was as though the only person he found that could see him would leave, or rather, spastically die in some freak accident. The ghost slowly rose from the couch and tiptoed to the adjoining room – Inuyasha's bedroom.

As soon as the figure entered the room, Inuyasha looked up, halfway through dragging his shirt off. His eyes narrowed before he tugged the shirt back on and lifted a finger pointing to the door back to the living room. "You! Get out! I'm helping you, but this is _**my**_ fuckin' room, not yours! Get the hell out!"

Yelping, quite startled by Inuyasha's behaviour, the apparition ran out of the room at breakneck speed (actually, it floated, but a ghost can't be bothered by such miniscule details). Breathing harshly, it plopped down onto Inuyasha's couch and just stared. Before long, the ghost got bored once again and decided that, what the heck, he was already dead and Inuyasha couldn't do anything to him. Unfortunately, he was very wrong, but fortunately, Inuyasha appeared from his room at that exact moment, dressed is rather odd garb.

Just as the ghost was about to ask, Inuyasha held up his and muttered, "Don't ask." Sighing, the black-haired youth looked closely at the dark brown hair of his companion, which was becoming quite long. He also noticed that as the apparition became clearer, several changes were occurring. One was the very pointy ears and increasingly long nails. The ghost, in turn, also noticed and gaped at his hand, with a 'what the hell?' expression on his face.

"Ah… so brown's your natural hair colour? I thought it would be black, but, whatever. And apparently you've been chosen as an… hmm. That doesn't seem right. You're not supposed to become _that_, of all things." Inuyasha dropped his voice to a murmur and tapped is lips in an 'interesting… very interesting' manner. The ghost looked at Inuyasha frantically, and began waving his hands about before grunting. "What the hell? Dammit, my shoulders are starting to hurt!" He cried out as a searing pain flared right between its shoulder blades.

Inuyasha's eyes lighted up slightly and he nodded his head. "Ah good, apparently they've realized their mistake. I can see that your ears are becoming less pointy, and you no longer have any claws. Very good."

As if to accent this remark, not only did Inuyasha nod, but the ghost's body began to emit a bright white light. The ghost's blue eyes widened impossibly and he threw his head back as a silent scream fell from his lips. Only moments later, bright white wings emerged from the ghost back, and a rough shriek could be heard. Inuyasha winced, covered his ears and said, "They never warn me, do they? Ow, my ears."

Soon after the agonizing shriek of pain, the glowing white light dissipated, leaving a very real, very solid, very _alive_ teenager standing, looking at himself in confusion. The young man blinked a couple of times before lifting his blue eyes to Inuyasha. For his part, Inuyasha was grumbling quietly to himself about needing to get hearing aids 'after this'. When the former ghost cleared his throat lightly, Inuyasha looked up and cocked his head much like a bird to observe his now alive companion.

"Well, it seems that you are now part of the ranks. I'll show you to Ri-chan and Rai-kun; they'll probably be overjoyed to see me, as well as having a new disciple." Inuyasha nodded, obviously pleased with something that had just happened. He turned around, heading towards his bedroom, picking at his odd clothes in apparent disgust. The younger man's eyes widened a bit more before he questioned, "What are you talking about? So this really means… that I'm… alive…?"

Turning back to the confused teenager in his living room, Inuyasha smirked. "Not really _alive,_ alive. You're more of… a guardian. I've given you permission to have a solid form while on Earth. But don't worry; you won't just randomly disappear. You will, however, have to answer to the summons, whenever I require of it. Think of it as… being reborn. In the same body. With minor changes, of course."

"A guardian?" The young man asked, taking a slight step forward, now noticing the eerie shine of his clothes, which were supposed to have been torn and covered in blood.

"Of Earth." Inuyasha just continued on his way to his room, before the perplexed teen heard the sound of a suitcase being closed. Soon after, Inuyasha stepped out of his room, dressed differently and leaned against the doorframe. "We need to get going if we're going to reach Ri-chan and Rai-kun's house before it gets too dark. Come on, move your ass along." Sighing, as there was obviously no way he would get out of this, the teen followed Inuyasha out of the apartment and into the apartment parking lot.

He continued to follow until they reached a beautiful new black Toyota hybrid, and climbed into the passenger seat. After Inuyasha set his suitcase in the trunk, he climbed into the driver's side and started the car. Pulling out of the parking lot, Inuyasha turned to his passenger and smiled evilly. His companion was greatly disgruntled by that.

"Oh, before I forget… Welcome to angelic life, Kouga-kun."

---

Staring out the window once again, Akari sighed and leaned against the glass pane. She perked up quite a bit when a maroon 1990 Toyota Camry pulled into the driveway. She literally leaped up from her spot to greet the man exiting the vehicle. Throwing the door of their rather rundown house, Akari skipped to her partner and jumped on him, causing him to topple to the ground.

"Yay! You're finally back!" She cried, hugging the dark red haired man around the neck, causing him to moan in dismay. A sharp noise from the back of his throat caused the woman to loosen her hold as she leaned back to eye the slightly distraught man. "What's you're problem?"

"I had your present in that briefcase… and it was fragile…" Raikou winced when Akari's eyes widened and became watery. Her small mouth hung open as she turned her head to look at fallen briefcase. She bit her lip cutely before slowly getting off Raikou and sat down next to the case. Raikou crawled (quite pathetically too) towards his wife and pulled the briefcase to his lap.

When he finally managed to get the thing open, both he and Akari could see shards of a bluish glass that was once a beautifully sculpted bird. As if in slow motion, Akari's hand came down and lightly touched one of the larger glass shards. She burst out crying as Raikou put the briefcase aside and hugged his distraught wife. "Hey, don't worry about it, Akari-chan. I'll just get you another. There's no need to cry over it."

Akari just started laughing and chocking between sobs, shaking her head. "We must look pretty stupid out here, with our recently dyed black – in your case red and black – hair, one in a business suit, the other wearing a silly apron with Hello Kitty one it, sitting in the drive way next to this ancient Toyota, and me crying over a broken piece of glass… and laughing at the same time… You just kind of sitting here looking absolutely ridiculous having tried crawling your way over… It's too funny… and yet, somehow, I don't know why I feel so horrible right now!"

Thinking about what Akari had just said, Raikou had to admit that it did seem rather silly, but with those heart-wrenching sobs in the background, he didn't really care. _'She must really miss her brother to have exploded over a glass bird of all things… Where the hell is that guy when you need him?'_ Raikou pondered as he carried Akari bridal-style into the house (the briefcase was rudely kicked through the open door in front of him) and sat down on the floor in front of the couch, stroking Akari's hair all the while.

She quieted down after they sat down and mumbled out a, "Sorry…" before wiping her face on Raikou's white shirt, to which he rose an eyebrow. He tried to lighten the air with a little joke. "Well, now my colleagues will all wonder exactly what I've been doing after work: going home to my humble wife, or rampaging about the beach and jumping into the ocean wearing my suit!"

"Not funny, bastard." Akari scowled cutely and pulled her husband down so that she could look directly into his eyes without her tears blurring anything out. "If you're subtly trying to tell me that I cry to much, you're about to get your face to meet its old friend the wall. If you're trying to lighten the air with a joke, bad timing."

Gulping, the man could only whimper out an apology before shaking his hair from the death grip that was pulling several roots out. As he was about to retort with a comment on his hair, the rumble of a car entered his hearing range. It was odd, really, for any sort of _motorized_ vehicle to announce its presence in their rather small neighborhood, considering the odd couple had see many of their neighbors riding their bikes around town.

So then, what was the car/truck/van/SUV/whatever doing here, sounding as though it would park in their driveway? Having nothing better to do, than argue of course, Akari and Raikou peered out the aging window, only to see a black hybrid parking before their mailbox.

---

Ayame stared at the picture in front of her face. It was the family portrait, the one she and her cousins loathed at the annual family gathering. It was one of the few pictures she now had of Kouga, and even in this one, he looked as though he'd rather not be there, emphasized by the blurriness of the photo. He'd obviously tried to run away from the picture, to no avail, with his mother grabbing the back of his white collared shirt.

As she continued to stare at the lone picture in the room of her idiot cousin, whom she was still convinced had a plague of the male species to have been so dense and egotistic, Ayame couldn't help but wonder if he would have ever settled down and gotten a girlfriend – a steady girlfriend. Sure, he'd actually dated a girl named Mitchizuka for three months, but after she left for her home in the United States where her American father and cause for her disaster of a name, Kouga and Mitchizuka decided that a long distance relationship would be far too much hassle.

Longing set deep in her green eyes, Ayame cried for the cousin she had lost, the best friend she would never see again, and the confident that really took her secrets to the grave. She cried until there were no more tears and she fell asleep, exhausted from not eating lunch or dinner and grieving the death of her cousin.

---

"…and if you were paying attention to the briefing that this one Jaken-sama had decided to give you in preparation for the real world, none would come back as ravished, abused, and _stupid-looking_ as you seven." A small man scuttled around, trying his best to keep the agents from bleeding to death.

Honestly, all of the agents hated him as well as his twin brother, whom he'd not seen for quite sometime, and considering they shared a name thank to their master's lack of individuality, it was not wonder the other brainless monkeys didn't realize that one was _Jaken_ and the other _Jakken_. Nor did they seem to realize that _Jakken_ was the agent and _Jaken_ was the doctor – a very skilled one at that – who didn't really like being in the stinky, humid rooms of their building.

'_I only followed my brother here out of duty, and look what happens._' Jaken thought, sighing as he carefully tended to one of his patients wounds. He was tired, sweaty, and hungry, but he couldn't just leave all these people here to die. He was a doctor, and damn if he wouldn't keep his doctor's oath!

"Jaken-sama, another one's coming!" A young girl ran through the door and pointed down the hall, her long mud brown hair flopping over her shoulder. She huffed until she caught her breath and finally managed to ask, "Jaken-sama, did you have dinner?"

Shaking his head at his assistant, Jaken continued to drape the gauze over a young man's wrist, where their target had rudely slashed him. Holding it in place with one small hand, the doctor ripped off a piece of medical tape and carefully taped down the wrap. Jaken was about to ask his assistant if she would get the ice pack for another one of their patient's swelling ankles, but found the girl busy directing a larger man onto the only free bed.

Smiling at her weary mentor brightly, she watched as he sat down for a break; he'd just finished bandaging the entire "Idiot Seven Squad" for completing their mission sloppily, once again. "Would you mind getting this Jaken-sama some lunch? You may take some as well."

"No problem!" She bounced off her chair happily and proudly declared to the room of drugged agents and one weary doctor, "Rin loves Jaken-sama, after all!"

---

Ending Note: I'm sorry for it being so bloody long; life caught up somewhere between finishing this chapter and actually getting around to posting it. Also, on a more distressing note, it seems I have no clue what I was doing with this. Uh-oh.


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